Archive for Morning Links

Failed bike bill wins in principle, Trump’s war on DEI bike lanes mirrors state’s attack on Forest Lawn Dr, and WeHo sued over Ackerman death

September 3, 2026 / / No comments

Calbike writes that there is victory in defeat for Encinitas State Senator Catherine Blakespear’s SB 569.

The bill would have prohibited the removal of any bike lane without ensuring that whatever follows provides a safe and accessible environment for bicyclists.

Yet the legislature affirmed the general principle behind the bill by adding a budget amendment limiting the application to the Santa Fe Drive project in Encinitas, which motivated SB 569 in the first place.

The budget bill prevents Encinitas from removing the bike lane on Santa Fe Drive, which was built using state General Fund money, unless the city can ensure that bike riders will be as safe without the bike lane as they are with it.

According to Calbike,

In doing so, the underlying principle behind the bill has now been validated by the Legislature: public investment in safe bikeways should have the same presumption of durability we expect from other roadway investments, especially if we expect people to shift how they travel.

The concept underlying SB 569 is bigger than protecting any particular strip of pavement. At CalBike, we see it as protecting the integrity of public investment. A bikeway is part of a network, so removing one segment can cause damage well beyond that block: a comfortable route to a school can suddenly have a dangerous gap, a connection to transit can become inaccessible to many riders, and a network that took years to assemble is often only as strong as its weakest link. When faced with such gaps, many would-be bike riders find the risk intolerable and opt into more car trips.

Which is a lot of words to say that bicyclists rely on an entire bike network to get where they’re going safely, and removing any one segment can make the entire network less safe, and less practical to use.

So even though the larger bill lost in this session, at least the legislature seems to get that bike networks need to be maintained in their entirety. And that losing one link degrades the whole damn thing.

Then again, the same could be said of not building promised bike lanes, which is what Metro is being sued over on the Vermont corridor.

And what the legislature actively prevented on Forest Lawn Drive.

………

Even People magazine has picked up the story of the Trump Administration’s bizarre war on “DEI” bike lanes, as if bikes were part of a secret commie plot to disadvantage white male drivers in favor of trans nonwhite women on bicycles.

The story includes this gem —

In an email statement to NPR, a DOT spokesperson said it “continuously reviews its policies to ensure each promotes safety, efficiency, and common sense.”

“Since nearly 80% of the population uses cars to get to work and their important medical appointments, we are taking a closer look at federal guidance to ensure American families have the infrastructure they need,” the statement said, per the outlet. “This is a common sense approach despite the Left’s belief that everyone should ride a bike to their shoebox-sized apartment to eat crickets to achieve a phony climate agenda.”

I would like it on the record that I, for one, have never knowingly eaten a single cricket, though I do sometimes sleep with my mouth open, so who knows.

Then again, our own state legislature has joined in that same war on bike lanes, DEI or otherwise, by passing legislation at the financial behest of Forest Lawn and Mt. Sinai cemeteries, that will make it difficult, if not impossible, to improve the bike lanes and traffic safety on Forest Lawn Drive.

So it’s not just the right making bizarre decisions to block bike lanes and keep our streets and highways dangerous.

And yes, this tweet from Elmo — no, not that one — pretty well sums it up.

Twitter post

Or this, for that matter.

Twitter post

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No surprise here, as the family of fallen bike rider Blake Ackerman has filed a lawsuit against the city of West Hollywood, as well as the alleged hit-and-run driver who killed him.

WeHo Times writes,

According to court records obtained by WEHO TIMES, Robin L. Ackerman filed the lawsuit individually and as successor-in-interest to the estate of her son, Blake Adam Ackerman. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, names Douglas Morton Adams, the driver accused of striking Ackerman, along with several unidentified government entities and other defendants.

The lawsuit alleges negligence, a dangerous condition of public property and wrongful death. It seeks damages to be determined at trial and requests a jury trial.

The family could have a good case, considering the city’s dithering over building the long-promised protected bike lanes on Fountain Ave that might have prevented his death.

As the lawsuit alleges, the city knew the roadway was dangerous for bicyclists but failed to make the necessary safety improvements.

West Hollywood is moving forward with the project now, although with the usual glacial speed. But as usual, the decision to move forward comes too late for Ackerman.

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I recently received a request to add a specialized mountain bike suspension shop in Irvine to our list of bike shops on the Resources page.

However, I’m planning to remove that page, because it’s nearly impossible to keep it current the way bike shops come and go these days. So I responded with a counter offer to allow them to introduce themselves to you.

And yes, I’m open to any other bike shops who want to send me a similar description.

ST Tuned is a mountain bike suspension shop based in Irvine, CA, specializing exclusively in suspension service, tuning, and setup for Fox, RockShox, Öhlins, Cane Creek and DVO. We’re not a general bike shop — suspension is the only thing we do, which means every rebuild, tune, and setup gets the kind of dedicated attention a shop juggling a dozen other services simply can’t offer.

Owner Mike Boon brings over 20 years of experience to every bike that comes through the shop, with a factory-level approach to rebuilds, custom valving, and bushing work. Whether a rider needs a full damper rebuild, a simple sag and setup session, or help troubleshooting a fork or shock that just doesn’t feel right anymore, the goal is always the same: get the suspension performing the way it was actually designed to.

One of the things that sets us apart is our on-trail suspension setup service. Rather than just dialing in numbers in a parking lot, we’ll go out on the actual trail with a rider and fine-tune sag, rebound, and compression based on how the bike feels over real terrain — roots, chunk, drops & jumps, whatever that rider actually rides. It’s a level of setup that’s hard to get anywhere else, and it usually ends with a rider feeling a difference they can’t believe they’d been riding without.

While ST Tuned is based in Irvine, we work with riders throughout Southern California — not just Orange County — and also offer mail-in suspension service for riders further out who want the same level of service without the drive.

Riders can find more information & book a service at sttuned.com or call the shop at (714)213-3083.

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

Murrieta is taking the fight against reckless teen ebike riders a step further, with a new ordinance that penalizes not only the rider, but also the parents of kids who ride recklessly on electric bicycles — even though the problem isn’t actually ebikes, but illegal e-motos and dirt bikes that are inexplicably mistaken for bicycles.

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Local 

Something to look forward to, as you could be banned from using certain streets during the ’28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with a travel network set aside for the exclusive use of Olympic traffic.

As the late, great John Prine said, your flag decal may not get you into heaven anymore, but your Santa Monica library card could get you discounts are local shops, including Bike Attack Electric and Road Runner Sports, among others.

 

State

Something called Fast Food Club lists ten California towns that are “perfect for a long, happy retirement,” many of which are bike friendly. And none of which are Los Angeles. 

Sad news from Kern County, where an ebike rider was killed in Taft on Wednesday when he was right hooked by the driver of a utility truck while riding against traffic on the sidewalk. And yes, sidewalks are bidirectional, and there’s no restriction on which way you can ride, but drivers too often won’t be looking for you as they look the other way for oncoming traffic. 

Police in Redwood City busted a serial bike thief for the second time, after receiving 10 separate reports of bicycle thefts from the Caltrain commuter line, one year after arresting the same man for the same crime.

Sad news from Auburn, where a 41-year old man was killed Monday when he was struck by three separate drivers as he tried to cross a highway on his bicycle.

Still more sad news from Northern California, where a 62-year old man was killed by a driver while riding a bicycle in Hayward on Monday.

 

National

A writer for Cycling West says local bike shops are fighting for their lives amid Trump’s up-and-down tariffs, and competition from direct sales, big box stores and online retailers. Which is why you should ride to your favorite LBS today and buy something. Anything. 

Portland, Oregon is about to experience its own Carmageddon, encouraging motorists to ride their bikes, while at the same time warning bike riders about increased dangers on the streets when the southbound portion of I-5 shuts down for five weeks.

Unlike the Pennsylvania story a little further down, police in Utah got it right, citing a driver for failure to yield after right-hooking a 14-year old kid riding a bike in the same direction as the driver.

New York bike riders now have a new 5.5-mile protected bike lane between Sunset Park and Dumbo. Insert elephant joke here.

Bystanders in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania came to the rescue when a woman riding an ebike was pinned under a VW bug after she was right hooked, lifting the car off her to free her. Although the local TV station bizarrely framed it as demonstrating the dangers of ebikes and not wearing a helmet, rather than drivers not using their damn mirrors before making a turn. 

She gets it. A North Carolina YMCA cycling instructor talks bike safety in the wake of the recent Milligan University massacre, reminding drivers that the speed limit is the maximum speed allowed, not how fast they have to go, and end with this — “Our roads belong to all of us. Every person using them has responsibilities, and every person using them deserves to get home safely.”

 

International

A bicycling club in Ontario, Canada celebrates their last tandnnmnnffffffsk            em ride of the season for visually impaired bicyclists. Okay, that’s where I fell asleep while typing. Well, one of the places. 

As we mentioned the other day — no, not that one, the other one — a British bike shop specializing in ebikes left customers hanging when they abruptly closed after 34 years, including one customer who paid the equivalent of more than $14,000 for two ebikes that were never delivered.

A writer for France Today invites readers to explore the country’s roads and bicycle routes — and asks French drivers to show a little understanding.

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-one-year old British “super-sprinter” Matthew Brennan won his third stage of the Vuelta on Wednesday’s stage 11, as race leader Enric Mas retained his 1:18 lead over Primož Roglič.

British cyclist Lewis Askey won the opening stage of the men’s Tour of Britain yesterday, finishing two seconds ahead of Italian Fillipo Ganna in a sprint finish.

Even Geraint the dog, named for British cycling great Geraint Thomas, turned out to line the course for the first stage of the Tour of Britain.

Nineteen-year old Ezra Caudell of the Modern Adventure Pro Cycling team remains hospitalized with what’s described as “multi-system trauma” after crashing hard with Lotto-Intermarché rider Milan Menten at the Philadelphia Cycling Classic; there’s no word yet on Menten’s condition.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the city paints a bike lane on the sidewalk, even though the same city bans bikes on sidewalks. Or when it’s harder to pedal your bike in rent-burdened neighborhoods.

And seriously, if you’re riding a bicycle after dark with coke hidden in your sock, put a damn light on it, already.

The bike, that is, not the sock. Or the coke.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap as legislature passes bill to keep Forest Lawn deadly, and another bill creates 10 mph sidewalk speed limit

September 2, 2026 / / No comments

So much for that.

The state legislature passed a last-minute bill designed to keep Forest Lawn Drive deadly on a permanent basis. The bill, introduced just three days before the end of the legislative session, came after heavy lobbying by Forest Lawn and Mt. Sinai cemeteries, in an apparent attempt to keep drumming up business on their front doorsteps.

I’ll let Streetsblog explain it.

The second trailer was to, in the official Assembly summary of the legislation, “Prohibits reducing vehicle lanes on a road serving two cemeteries in a city exceeding two million people unless specified public hearing, voting, and finding and declaration requirements are met.” This description fits one street in the entire state: Forest Lawn Drive in Los Angeles. This trailer is a political hot potato, as the fate of the Forest Lawn Drive safety project has become a major issue in the mayor’s race. Streetsblog Los Angeles explains:

Many Streetsblog readers are familiar with recent disputes over the city’s planned Forest Lawn Drive safety improvements. Briefly, in 2023, the city Transportation Department (LADOT) and City Councilmember Nithya Raman announced plans to reconfigure Forest Lawn Drive, making it safer for both drivers and bicyclists. Forest Lawn and Mount Sinai cemeteries strongly opposed the project. The project was delayed, but was nonetheless ready to be installed this summer, until it was paused by Mayor Karen Bass.

If the governor signs it — and there is no reason to believe he won’t at this point — it would be virtually impossible to build the fully vetted, funded and shovel-ready project as long as Bass remains mayor, and difficult if she’s defeated this November.

It has also convinced me to vote for the opponent of my current Assembly Member, Rick Chavez Zbur, who signed a letter opposing the project and supported the backdoor legislation. I plan to reach out to his opponent, Democrat Colin Hernandez, this week to get his stand on the issue.

Other legislators who signed the letter include 52nd District Assemblymember Jessica Caloza, 44th District Assemblymember Nick Schultz, 54th District Assemblymember Mark González, and 26th District Senator Maria Elena Durazo.

If any of those represent you, I would at least ask them why they oppose safe streets. And consider voting for someone who doesn’t.

………

One of the bills passed by the legislature creates a 10 mph speed limit for anyone using an “alternative mode of transportation” on any sidewalk in the state. If the governor signs it, AB 2346 would apply to bicycles, ebikes, scooters, skateboards or anything else that doesn’t travel on two feet.

The bill would also allow local governments to establish a speed limit for bicycle paths and multiuse trails, encouraging limits of 15 or 20 mph, or 10 mph in areas with heavy pedestrian use or limited visibility.

And it would require ebike sellers and distributors to provide written disclosures that include an ebike’s classification under California law and maximum speed and wattage, as well as the state ebike laws and age and helmet requirements. It would also require integrated front and rear lights for any ebikes, along with a speedometer for all Class 2 ebikes.

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The New York Times says the Trump administration really does seem to believe that “D.E.I. bike lanes” really are a thing, fighting to roll back funding for bike projects across the US, even though 3/4 of Americans, and 2/3 of Republicans, support bike lanes in their area.

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Streets For All is hosting debates for city council candidates in West Hollywood and Santa Monica.

Twitter post

Twitter post

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

No bias here. A Wichita, Kansas op-ed argues that the city is spending “more than any city ever should” to “facilitate a hobby enjoyed by a relative handful of people,” by building an artistically designed bike and pedestrian bridge ” that will serve “(maybe) hundreds of people in a city of 400,000.” Just wait until someone tells him what it costs to build a bridge for cars. 

They get it. More than 1,500 people turned out for London’s Critical Mass ride on Friday, which doubled as a protest over a recent intentional hit-and-run that resulted in a murder charge for the driver, with riders calling for a lifetime ban for drivers who use their cars as a weapon.

No bias here, either. A member of the Irish Parliament complains about “massive” bike lanes taking over the streets, in a city where less than 2/3 of a mile of bike lanes have been built in the last decade.

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

I think I need an English to English dictionary. After a British teenager refused to move her bike on a train for someone with a fancy racing bike, an online commenter responded “Nta, doesn’t matter how ‘swish’ the other dude’s bike is, it doesn’t give him the right to touch yours.” Google says “NTA” means “not the asshole,” while “swish” translates to “stylish, fashionable, smart or high-class.”

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Local 

Streetsblog reports LADOT has installed new Toronto barriers on a portion of the bike lanes on Imperial Highway near LAX, as well as a new rigid plastic barrier on Crystal Springs Drive in Griffith Park, and plans to extend the protected bike lanes on Hollywood Blvd an 1/4 mile east onto Sunset Blvd. And no, I don’t know the difference between a Toronto barrier and a Jersey barrier. But I do know which term Donald Trump would prefer. 

This is who we share the road with. A high-speed crash in Norwalk involving five drivers and 12 parked cars resulted in the death of one driver, and injured two others.

 

State

The San Diego Reader lists the city’s mot treacherous spots for bike riders, including Friars Road, Nimitz Blvd, University Ave, Pershing Drive and Genesee Ave. Although lately, the answer to that seems to be “everywhere.”

Thanks to a $1.25 million grant  from the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy, shade structures and native trees will be installed at five rest stops along the Coachella Valley’s 50+ mile CV Link pathway. Despite the illustration accompanying the article, palm trees aren’t native to the California desert, nor are they technically trees, being a member of the grass family. 

Sad news from Visalia, where a man riding a bicycle was killed in a hit-and-run  Sunday night.

In another backward step, a state board approved new private fences on private properties along the Sacramento River, complicating plans to complete a continuous 40-mile pathway along the river.

 

National

The National Park Service is proposing a new rule to ease access for bicycles and ebikes in National Parks, eliminating some review requirements and giving park managers more flexibility to allow bikes on roads, parking areas and trails. And yes, that includes here in Yosemite.

Authorities identified the person killed by a driver during the New Belgium Brewery’s annual Tour de Fat in my bike-friendly Colorado hometown as a 33-year old Denver man; the driver of the pickup reportedly drove up onto the sidewalk after hitting another vehicle while backing out of a parking space, killing the man and injuring four other people, as witnesses rushed to aid the victims.

Like virtually everywhere else, illegal ebike usage by minors continues to be an issue in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Something that I included only because it’s so much fun to say Sheboygan. 

A 44-year old man was killed, and other person critically injured, in collisions just hours apart as they tried to ride their bicyclists around construction zones in Indianapolis, Indiana on Monday, raising questions about whether enough is being done to protect riders around traffic disruptions.

Tennessee State Senator Kerry Roberts completed a series of five century rides through his district to honor the victims of a 2021 flood that took 20 lives; he began the project after surviving a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 2020.

A 30-year old Massachusetts man was killed when his bicycle “collided” with a pickup truck, in a crash that apparently didn’t involve a driver, and where no humans appear to be in control of either vehicle.

A new 430-mile gravel bikepacking loop snakes through the Endless Mountains in northeast Pennsylvania.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A 63-year old Miami, Florida orthopedic surgeon is paralyzed from the waist down and fighting for his life after he was struck by a driver while riding his bicycle on the city’s deadly Rickenbacker Causeway.

 

International

Nearly 1,400 people took part in the 44th annual two-day, 190-mile Seattle-to-Vancouver bike ride.

Ontario, Canada takes a significant step backward, as work begins to rip out hard won and heavily used bike lanes in Toronto over the objections of city leaders, in order to give the space back to cars and offer a virtual “fuck you” to the province’s bicycling community.

A British man has been sentenced to five years and four months behind bars for killing a 17-year old boy who had just beaten leukemia, after crashing into the teenager’s bicycle while popping wheelies at up to 33 mph on an illegal ebike.

Queensland, Australia passed a tough new ebike law, mandating that ebikes to meet EU standards, banning any ebike riders under 16, requiring at least a learners permit to ride one, and limiting speeds to just 7.5 mph around pedestrians.

An Aussie writer suggests there’s a growing divide between bicyclists and cars in the country’s capital of Canberra. Although I believe he means between bicyclists and motorists, since most cars don’t really care one way or the other.

 

Competitive Cycling

British cycling pro Ben Moore is using his social media platform to help people get their bikes back after a major bike shop unexpectedly closed, locking the doors with customer’s bikes back inside.

French cyclist Bastien Tronchon overcame two late attackers to win a messy sprint to the finish in stage 10 of the Vuelta, as Enric Man held onto the red leader’s jersey with a 1:18 lead over Primož Roglič.

A columnist for Cycling News says Tadej Pogačar’s abandonment while leading the Vuelta and pending collarbone surgery will likely end his season, and could complicate next year’s plans.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you’re an 84-year old globe-trotting bike rider from the neck down, and a teenager from the neck up. Or when your hotel offers a bicycling concierge and multi-use trails right outside its door.

And presenting a bike tour for riders who give a Flock.

Thanks to Megan for the heads-up. And no apologies for the pun. 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

Arrest finally made in BMO stadium road rage murder, guilty plea to 2nd degree murder of Ventura teen, and Canberra mass casualty crash

August 28, 2026 / / One comment

The fun thing about health problems is the learning never stops.

For instance, I learned Wednesday that I can cope with low blood sugar, and I can cope with low blood pressure. What I can’t cope with is low blood sugar and low blood pressure.

My night was like an endless version of an Elvis Costello song.

And can someone please tell me if Lake America is anywhere near the Gulf of America? I get so confused. 

………

They got him.

Finally.

Police made an arrest for the intentional hit-and-run crash that killed 16-year old Jonathan “Junior” Flores, after chasing him into the parking lot at BMO Stadium two years ago.

Thirty-three-year old Los Angeles resident Jonathan Rodriguez was arrested after fleeing first to Mexico, then to El Salvador.

Flores was taking part in an afternoon ride with around 40 other teens when an altercation took place between the driver of a BMW and some of the kids as they rode on Figueroa Street.

When the kids tried to escape through a gap in the fencing around the parking lot, the driver of a second car, who police allege was Rodriguez, broke through the gate and chased the teens into the parking lot, slamming into Flores before backing out and fleeing the scene.

To make matters worse, Flores was an innocent victim who had nothing to do with the original altercation, in which someone allegedly broke one of the cars’ mirrors.

Flores had been wanted on $2 million bond after police tracked both cars to his home.

He was taken into custody at LAX when police negotiated his surrender after tracking him to El Salvador.

Let’s hope the negotiations that led to his surrender didn’t include reducing the charges or possible sentencing, even though that seems likely.

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It only took five years, but we’ve finally seen justice for 16-year old Pedro Valdez.

Thirty-three-year old Samuel Matthew Rocha pled guilty to 2nd degree murder and using his car as a weapon for the road rage death of Valdez, and injuring four other teens — two “significantly” — when he plowed his car through a group of seven bike-riding kids.

That comes four months after a jury convicted Rocha of four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of battery, along with the special allegation of causing great bodily injury in the commission of a felony.

Rocha ran down the kids, who were just out enjoying a bike ride, eleven minutes after he had battered a man and a woman at a laundromat, and intentionally stuck an employee with his car as he was leaving the parking lot.

Rocha remains in custody without bail, and faces 27 to life when he is sentenced on October 27th.

I just hope he gets enough time that he’s not back out on the streets in a few years, thanks to the revolving door on ur state prison system.

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Another mass casualty crash, this time in Australia, as a “vehicle” — evidently the 40-year old driver was not in control of it — plowed into five members of a Canberra bike club, resulting a scene a senior cop described as “beyond comprehension”.

Three riders were injured; one, a 32-year old woman, died at the scene, while a 39-year old man remains in critical and unstable condition. The other victim, a 34-year old man, was treated and released.

The victims were in the left lane of a four lane divided highway — the equivalent of our right lane — when they were struck by a driver traveling in the same direction, for some unknown reason.

Yet the driver still has not been charged or cited, for reasons known only to the local police.

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I’m including the information from this email I got yesterday.

We’re launching Bike Streets in LA County! Log every ride with Bike Streets and help us build the Low-Stress Bike Map. Ride and help us reach our first weekly goal of 20 riders. bikestreets.com/join

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

The Tennessee Highway Patrol has released dashcam video of an Elizabethton cop striking a bike rider in a crosswalk, in a left cross collision; the FHP says the bike rider failed to observe a stop sign. But the video also shows the cop failed to slow down or look for any other traffic before turning.

Nope, nothing to see here. Half of drivers in the UK say they honk at bike riders at least once a week, and half of bike riders have experienced drivers shouting or swearing at them in the last year. Which is either an indictment of the country’s crappy bicyclists, or its impatient drivers. Or both. 

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

A Scottish teen faces charges for the attack that deliberately knocked a man off his bicycle, as the bike-riding thief takes off with it, in an attack captured by a trailing bike rider.

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Local 

Secret Los Angeles discovers the not-so-secret Bicycle Kitchen bike co-op on Fountain Ave, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro weighs in on LA’s mayoral race, saying Councilmember and mayoral challenger Nithya Raman was ridiculed for celebrating a new crosswalk in her district, even as the pavement beneath it remained cracked. So Shapiro evidently thinks the councilmember somehow controls the Bureau of Street Services, which is under the mayor’s purview. And that she was the one responsible for bankrupting the city, which halted street repair work. 

SF Gate looks at SoCal’s killer highway, and the ongoing efforts to improve safety on the deadly PCH from Malibu to Huntington Beach, including a bill in the state legislature that would allow speed cams on the state highway through Long Beach.

The invaluable LA Streetsblog is less than $3,000 short of their fundraising goal with just one week to go.

 

State

That about sums it up. The Los Angeles Times says Orange County DA Todd Spitzer’s buyback program for illegal e-motos and hacked ebikes means the country is treating ebikes like guns. I don’t know if that means they are taking ebikes too seriously, or not taking guns seriously enough.

A Coronado letter writer says we don’t need any new ebike laws, we just have to enforce the ones we already have.

The San Diego Association of Governments, aka SANDAG, broke ground on two complete streets projects in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego, with new bike lanes, improved pedestrian crossings and roadway repairs along Orange and Central avenues.

This is who we share the road with. Two teenagers riding an e-scooter and an e-motorbike hospitalized in extremely critical condition after they were struck by elderly driver in Riverside, who struggled to come to a stop with one of the victims embedded in their windshield. 

 

National

Salon considers the Trump administration’s battle to restore the manhood of America rooted in speed and strength, with nary an unmanly bicycle to be seen. Although his administration also revisited a 2016 park management plan for Teton National Park, opening the way for a bike path along the primary roadway through the park.

Forbes says legislation, lawsuits and tariffs may pose a bigger threat to ebikes than any bike-lane feud. And says ebikes are changing the way we think about bike helmets. Maybe we could start by offering more protection than the current standards of 12.5 mph.

Vinyl and Velvet says that $50, 60-year old Schwinn Sting-Ray in your garage could be worth real money. If I had one of those hidden away, they’d have to back up a Brinks truck to get me to sell.

Illinois follows California’s lead, and establishes a three-tier system for legal bikes, while requiring a license and insurance for anything outside the system.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a ghost bike that had been in a Pittsburgh neighborhood for over a decade.

New York bicyclists held a die-in on Wednesday to protest the deaths of three bike riders and a pedestrian over just a five day period.

A 38-year old man in was arrested and charged with two counts of first degree homicide, along with a host of other charges, for the hit-and-run death of Savannah, Georgia’s “Flag Man,” who was known for riding around the city with a giant American flag attached to his bicycle; the charges suggest police believe the driver acted intentionally when he veered off the roadway to strike the victim on the center median.

 

International

The Hackernoon website says retail analytics consistently fail to account for bicycle traffic, counting customers who arrive by car, transit and on foot, but apparently failing to consider than anyone might actually ride a bike to their shops.

A travel writer rides Bolivia’s Death Road, and lives to tell about it.

A Canadian bike rider takes the scenic route, traveling roughly 280 miles roundtrip through “wild as hell” woods on mostly off-road trails from Gatineau, Quebec to Montreal.

A London paper considers the city paradoxically seeing a 21% surge in bicycling injuries, even as bicycling deaths fall.

A bike nonprofit calls on the government to prioritize bicycles for short trips, as successive heatwaves continue to pound the UK.

British TV hosts were left flabbergasted when a man known as Britain’s “most hated cyclist” for his helmet cam videos of lawbreaking drivers, said the new 20 mph speed limits in Birmingham don’t apply to bicyclists, arguing that speed limits are for motorized vehicles. He may be right, depending on exactly how the law is written. Or not. 

Bike riders in Flanders, Belgium say they feel “most unsafe” when drivers pass too fast or too closely. In other words, just like bike riders everywhere. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar continue to dominate the Vuelta, padding his lead on a day when he barely survived a near-crash on a descent. Unless disaster strikes, the race is now a question of who else will be on the podium with him, rather than who will win. 

The Guardian asks if the revival of the Philly Classic could lead to another Golden Age of American cycling. We can only hope.

American gravelist Chad Haga reluctantly called it a career, after mounting injuries and a heavy training crash forced him into early retirement.

 

Finally…

Evidently, computerized bikes are nothing new, you could have had one 40 years ago. And at least we don’t have to worry about riding into the nearest bomb shelter.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

Protect yourself from scorching heat, LA council boldly does nothing on e-motos, and supporting bike and transit votes in CA legislature

August 26, 2026 / / 2 comments

I’ve been remiss in failing to remind you to stay safe during the current heat wave.

If possible, ride early or late, avoiding the peak afternoon hours when temperatures will be flirting with or surpassing the 100° mark, depending on where you are.

If you’re riding recreationally, try to stick to the coast, where temps will be significantly cooler, or try to ride shady streets when possible.

Stay hydrated. Drink more than you think you need, and stop frequently to cool off.

And use lots of sunscreen. You don’t want to end up with a face that looks like mine right now.

………

The Los Angeles city council took bold action to halt the spread of illegal e-motos and electric dirt bikes in the city on Tuesday.

Oh, who am I kidding.

The council did what they do best, voting unanimously to study the issue.

The motion from Heather Hutt, John Lee and Traci Park instructs LADOT, LAPD, city attorneys, the Bureau of Street Services, LA Metro and the Bicycle Advisory Committee to report back in 90 days with suggestions on how to best regulate electric motorbikes on a number of issues — most of which are already covered by state law, or by bills up for a final vote in the state legislature this week.

The only topics that aren’t covered by current or pending state laws would require ebike education for anyone under 18 or without a valid driver’s license, and regulate storing and charging any type of two-wheeled electric vehicle to prevent hazardous waste and battery fires.

They could have asked the city attorney to draft an ordinance covering those two issues and voted on that, but that wouldn’t have given them a performative platform act like they’re doing something without actually doing anything.

And as we’ve seen in the past, those 90 day deadlines are extremely elastic, often stretching months or years past the promised due date.

So once again, hats off to the city council for taking the kind of bold, decisive non-action we’ve come to expect from them.

………

Speaking of bills in the state legislature, Streetsblog’s Damien Newton provides the links you need to respond to action alerts to help save public transit, strengthen the state’s Active Transportation Program, and pass the best of the surviving ebike safety bills, which would clearly differentiate between ebikes and e-motos.

This is the final week of the legislative session, so bills either pass now or die for this year.

………

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

The Florida driver accused of a road rage attack on a trio of bicyclists faces charges after turning himself in to police on Monday, three days after he honked at them, then swerved his SUV to strike one and force the other off the road, before finally popping off a shot before driving away.

No bias here. You don’t even have to navigate the Telegraph’s paywall to get the drift of this drivel, as a columnist’s screed denounces ebikes as “the most complete expression of the bullying arrogance of cyclists,” and “dangerous vehicles” that are “an aesthetic blight on London.” By which he means the relatively tame Lime bikes, which about as dangerous as an ill-tempered Chihuahua. 

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

The editor of the Putney News, in the eponymous jolly olde London neighborhood, says it’s time to talk about dangerous bicyclists, as the number of pedestrians killed or injured by bicyclists last year was up 71% over 2015 — although that was a total of just 234 in a country of 65 million people, with just two people killed. Yes, two. And yes, one is one too many, but that hardly seems like reason to panic. 

………

Local 

One letter writer in the LA Times defends bike lanes on Forest Lawn Drive, while others call for speed cams, speed bumps and sarcasm instead of lane reductions.

KCRW talks with Streetsblog editor Joe Linton about whether Metro is up to the task of handling visitors for the 2028 Olympics.

Glendale will host a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 3rd to celebrate completion of the La Crescenta Avenue Rehabilitation Project, which includes a lane reduction and bike lanes.

 

State

The Orange County DA continues his aggressive prosecution of parents of illegal e-moto riders, charging a father for the apparent electric dirt bike crash that injured his 12-year old son earlier this year.

Irvine-based Rivian ebike spinoff Also has raised $150 million in capital to pursue driverless — and presumably riderless — delivery vehicles.

 

National

Outside recommends the year’s best and most affordable bike gear. Even if they seem to use “affordability” in the most Trumpian sense. 

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Seattle finished work on a new bike lane, just two months after a 76-year old woman was killed riding her bike there. Although it works even better if you build it before someone gets killed. 

The US edition of Britain’s Daily Express breaks the shocking news that a woman on a multi-day bike tour was mauled to death by a 400-pound grizzly bear after stopping to camp in Montana — five years ago.

An Elizabethton, Tennessee bike rider was hospitalized after being struck by a cop in an apparent left cross collision; needless to say, the officer was not charged or cited for the crash. Because somehow, they just never seem to be a fault when cops investigate cops.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he disagrees with the city council speaker over whether the city’s Citi Bike bikeshare should require age verification over privacy concerns and whether the technology actually works.

A bipartisan bill in Pennsylvania state senate would approve the full Idaho Stop law in the state, allowing bike riders to treat red lights like stop signs, and stop signs as yields, when it is safe to do so; the Philadelphia bike coalition approves.

Most of the story is hidden behind a paywall, but a Republican writer for the conservative Washington Examiner says she used to think bike lanes were DEI projects, too, until she watched her father take his last breath after getting hit by the driver of an SUV on a notoriously dangerous South Carolina road. (Correction: I originally identified the writer as a man, although you would have thought the name Chrissy would have tipped me off.)

Maryland cops threw the book at a 13-year old kid for riding an illegal e-moto — which the local website oddly capitalized — and evading a bike cop, then attempting to steal the cop’s police mountain bike when they swooped in for the bust in Mickey D’s parking lot.

 

International

Inside Hook talks with 2016 champ Nico Rosberg about trading an F1 cockpit for a mountain bike.

Four men face murder charges for lynching a falsely accused bike thief in Rio’s upscale Copacabana neighborhood; two security guards and two food delivery riders allegedly beat the victim to death after accusing him of stealing the bicycle, which he actually had borrowed from his sister.

An Edinburgh, Scotland writer issues a non-declaration of war on cars, which he says have already won, but instead takes apart the “car-centric society we accept as normal, confront(s) Edinburgh’s disgrace, its poverty, and show(s) that a cycling city, where the bike is how most people make most journeys, is the healthier, fairer alternative.” Well said. 

 

Competitive Cycling

The Vuelta a España is looking increasingly over after just four stages, as Tadej Pogačar soloed to victory by over two-and-a-half minutes, increasing his overall lead to 3:21 over Primož Roglič.

A Spanish hotel got rave four star reviews for sheltering the entire Vuelta peloton from a sudden hailstorm on Monday, even if most of the reviews were muy irónico.

The Scottish Sun displays a keen grasp of the obvious, saying it will be hard for the country to develop the next Chris Hoy if kids can’t even safely ride their bikes amid angry, impatient drivers.

 

Finally…

We may have to deal with feral LA drivers, but bike riders here hardly ever get attacked by wild boars. A bike helmet won’t magically ward off errant drivers, even if you’re mayor of New York.

And taking the goat by the horns.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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Rest in power DJ Chicken Leather, remember Milligan massacre by giving to The White Line, and grammar peeves make lousy pets

August 25, 2026 / / No comments

Sad news to report, as a beloved member of the Los Angeles bicycling community has died.

Paul Bacca, better known by his street name DJ Chicken Leather, was active for years as a volunteer with Midnight Ridazz and Critical Mass, as well as the Bike Kitchen and Bike Oven co-ops.

But he was best known for his ever-present handheld camera, questioning riders, cops and city officials whenever and wherever a bike event took place.

Anytime bike riders were present, he was bound to be there, too, with a ready smile and effervescent personality, despite his own struggles.

I lost track of him in recent years, as I became less active in the bicycling community due to my own health issues. I don’t know what happened to him or how he died, or even how or where he was found.

And to be honest, I don’t think it really matters.

But it was always a joy to encounter him at CicLAvia or City Hall, even if that camera made you want to hide at times.

Rest in power, friend. All your struggles are over, and your demons behind you.

Instagram post

………

The parents of 19-year old Haylan Engdahl, one of the two members of the Milligan University cycling team killed in a mass casualty crash by a possible wake-and-bake driver, have asked for donations to The White Line in lieu of flowers.

The nonprofit bike safety organization was founded by the parents of 17-year old US Cycling Team member Magnus White, who was killed by a driver who had been up all night drinking and getting high.

………

One of my pet peeves is lazy headline writers, like this one, who say that a bike rider was killed after a collision.

Which literally means the victim survived the crash, only to somehow be murdered afterwards.

You can say the victim died after the crash — like this headline — was killed as because of a crash, or was killed in the crash or by the driver. But you can’t say, as far too many writers do, that someone was killed after the crash, unless the driver got out and strangled them afterwards.

And yes, I know that’s just the English major in me coming out to enforce laws of grammar that I willfully break myself.

And yes, I also know that peeves make lousy pets.

………

No, KABC-7, cellphone video does not show an ebike takeover of the right lanes of the 91 Freeway in Long Beach.

It shows kids on illegal e-motos and dirt bikes popping wheelies and swerving between lanes; there’s not a single actual Class 1, 2 or 3 ebike visible anywhere in the group.

But it does appear to show a driver illegally using a handheld cellphone behind the wheel.

………

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

An apparent road-raging Florida driver was caught on video veering his SUV into a group of bicyclists before opening fire with a gun. Although if the same thing happened here, I’d question whether it was a gang driveby rather than a road rage confrontation. 

You’ve got to be kidding. A Florida man is asking a judge to dismiss charges against him for taking a boy’s cellphone away, asserting that the state’s Stand Your Ground law allowed him to defend himself and another man from a little kid who had been filming himself popping wheelies on an ebike.

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

A Singaporean service man was sentenced to a week behind bars for negligent bicycling after he crashed into an 83-year old woman on his rented bike; the woman died two days later after suffering a fractured skull.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton checks out the new curb-protected bike lanes being built on Alameda Street, connecting Union Station with the LA State Historic Park.

 The Los Angeles Times shockingly discovers that there are some Angelenos who actually get around without a car. However, as we all know, that kind of anti-social behavior should be shunned and shamed by the normal car-driving populous.

Long Beach expects the city’s new speed cams to bring in around $5 million annually, hiring 12 people to administer the program, and using the funds to improve street safety.

 

State

Orange County is considering a proposal to put scannable license plates on ebikes, which would require a change in state law, and also appears to lump all ebikes together — even though the problem comes from people riding illegal e-motorbikes and dirt bikes, which probably wouldn’t be licensed because they’re…wait for it…illegal.

Encinitas is also considering new ebike laws that would require a change in state law, which allows bicycles on any roadway open to automobiles, other than some restricted access highways.

A San Diego County writer says yes, ebikes can be dangerous, but experts say it’s really the streets and bike lanes that need to be fixed.

A beloved Lafayette bike shop is shutting its doors after a mere 101 years.

 

National

That’s more like it. Seattle’s mayor signed an executive order to speed up the city’s Vision Zero program, including fixing an intersection where a bike rider was killed. That compares favorably to a certain SoCal metropolis, where the mayor cancels shovel-ready safety improvements, and doesn’t seem to know the city even has a Vision Zero program.

Cambridge, Massachusetts is building more bike lanes this summer, as required by a city ordinance adopted in 2020.

A 14-mile Rhode Island bike path follows the route of a 171-year old rail line around Narragansett Bay, offering views of the bay, as well as light houses.

New Yorkers are fed up with “crazy” bikeshare prices.

 

International

Bike Radar examines the trends that led to their shortlist for Gravel Bike of the Year. You know, trends like, uh, gravel racing.

Toronto bicyclists are planning to make this week’s Critical Mass ride a protest against Ontario’s plan to rip out the city’s bike lanes. Meanwhile, Toronto’s mayor says Ontario Premier Doug Ford should be focused on Donald Trump, and not the city’s bike lanes.

Seriously? An English city is considering redesigning a new bike lane after drivers complained that it’s too wide and too confusing, causing congestion and slowing them down too much.

No disconnect here. Nearly 80% of Irish kids never bike to school, even though 70% of their parents say that’s the preferred method of getting there.

A dangerous new trend in England and Ireland shows young drivers posting video of themselves driving on the wrong side of the roadway. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

An employee of a Korean bicycle company was acquitted of causing the death of a 66-year old man in a head-on collision on a bicycle path, after the court concluded that the victim was riding on the wrong side of the path, and may not have taken proper care to avoid the crash.

Speaking of Singapore, as we were earlier, local bicyclists are calling for mutual respect from their peers and other road users, as bicycling collisions hit a four-year high. So the real problem causing crashes is that bike riders don’t respect one another? 

 

Competitive Cycling

There was no winner of the Vuelta’s third stage on Monday, after the stage was neutralized when a sudden hailstorm forced riders to take cover in nearby hotels. Eyewitnesses dramatically described seeing nothing happen in the race.

Briton’s Ethan Hayter missed out on a chance to take the Vuelta leader’s jersey in stage 2 when he was reeled in after a long breakaway, and after taking a pair of scissors to his skinsuit because the legs were too tight.

The manager of double Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard has taken UCI to task for their response, or the lack thereof, to the death of 19-year old Welsh cyclist Finlay Tarling, arguing that competitors have a right to expect a safe course.

An Oakland cartoonist has penned a graphic biography of Marshall “Major” Taylor, the early bike racer who was America’s first Black sporting champ, and for a time, the world’s fastest man.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can shove a newspaper down your jersey instead of investing in a proper jacket this winter. Probably not the best idea to — allegedly — steal an ebike, then try to collect a $100 reward for finding it.

And what the hell did they think would happen when the Vuelta hired a social media commentator whose only expertise was filming herself flirting with strangers?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

86-year old Carlsbad ebike rider killed by apparent driverless car, PCH driver tries to punch bicyclist, and doctor applies medical test to bike radar

August 24, 2026 / / No comments

After living with topical chemo for a few weeks, I now have a gaping, pulpy hole in my right cheek, and virtually no skin left on the top half of my left ear; we’ll learn in a few weeks if that got rid of the skin cancer, or if I will still need surgery. 

Seriously, wear sunscreen when you ride. Your future face will thank you. 

………

An 86-year old man was injured in a collision after allegedly riding an ebike through a red light in Carlsbad on July 31st, and died later at the hospital.

But once again, the story fails to mention whether he was riding a legal Class 1, 2 or 3 ped-assist e-bicycle, or an electric motorbike.

It also fails to mention whether the vehicle that hit him had a driver, which would seem to be an important detail.

………

No bias here.

A road-raging Laguna beach driver got out of his car to confront a bike rider on PCH on Saturday, attempting to punch the bicyclist as the other man backed away.

Needless to say, many people sided with the driver, blaming bicyclists for simply riding on the busy highway, despite having no idea what had spurred the incident.

Never mind that the driver committed assault simply by getting out of his car to confront the rider, and again by trying to punch him.

Funny how people get upset about bicyclists riding the coastal highway on weekends, but have no problem with people clogging it with their cars, taking up far more space less efficiently.

Instagram post

………

Interesting insight, as a physician says his 36 year of medical training convinces him not to use a rear-facing radar to detect oncoming motorists, because it would not hold up to a randomized clinical trial.

The problem, according to Dr. James H. Stein, is that an unbiased funder would look at the premise, and immediately concluded that it is unlikely to hold up to scrutiny.

At its limit of roughly 450 feet, for a vehicle driving 55 mph, the device provides about 5-6 seconds of warning (less if they are driving faster). That is enough time to register an alert, but I do not think it meaningfully changes the decisions available to a cyclist. The options remain the same as seeing a vehicle in your rear view mirror or hearing it approach: hold your line, move right (even if that means moving off the road), or signal your presence by waving your arms. Those decisions are made as the car approaches, not from that far away. Earlier detection, in this context, adds information without adding options.

A radar also tells you nothing about a driver’s trajectory, or whether it will hit you or go around you. It only notifies you of the vehicle’s presence.

The problem is that the constant notifications may lead to divided attention and notification fatigue, as  the rider’s focus is repeatedly diverted from the roadway to the screen and back again.

Furthermore, most of what can hurt a cyclist is in front of them: potholes, gravel, debris, pedestrians, other cyclists, and cars either parked or entering the roadway. Even before radar, I have seen cyclists become so absorbed in their cycling computer that they rode off the road, and others have hit parked cars in front of them because they were not paying close enough attention. And I can’t count the number of times riders I know forgot to charge their light (the one with safety evidence) but did remember to charge their radar device.

Stein says looking at the marketing materials is where his research training kicks in, telling “There are no data showing that radar, or even early detection, reduces crashes or injuries,” and “Showing that an intervention changes something we can measure is not the same as showing that it improves the outcome we actually care about.”

It’s worth taking a few moments to read the whole thing, and giving it some thought. And even learning something about supplemental oxygen and treating anemia in hospitalized patients, while you’re at it.

Because he brings up a perspective that you may have never considered.

I know I hadn’t.

………

Today’s common theme follows the pattern in recent weeks of ebikes of all stripes and the people who hate them.

Additional ebike-related news, good and bad, includes —

………

BikeLA announces the return of their annual Bike Fest fundraiser this November.

………

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

Literally war, in this case, as Russia’s 3rd Army posted video of a drone attack on an unarmed Ukrainian civilian riding a bicycle, before removing the online video, perhaps after realizing they had just posted evidence of a war crime.

Speaking of bias, the Adelaide, Australia Advertiser says forget toll roads, and make bicyclists pay a toll to pay for the $12 million the city is investing in bikeways. But then they kindly hide the story behind one of the country’s typical draconian paywalls to avoid the disservice of making us actually read that dreck.

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

A British writer confesses to riding through red lights, but says the solution to scofflaw bicyclists is fewer laws governing bicyclists, not more.

………

Local 

South Pasadena will host a pair of community meetings next week to discuss Metro-funded makeovers of the Fremont Avenue corridor from Columbia Street to Alhambra Road, and the Huntington Drive corridor from Alhambra Road to Garfield Ave.

A Cal Poly student describes riding his bicycle back to school from the San Fernando Valley to San Luis Obispo via Topanga Canyon Boulevard and PCH. Not once, but twice.

 

State

LAist says a $10.7 million bike lane project is coming to a long-overdue ten-mile stretch of PCH in Huntington Beach.

 

National

Two Navy vets in their 50s reunited for the first time in 30 years for a cross-country bike ride from California to New York to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

A Portland writer describes the law, or lack thereof, behind the trail crossing sign that has been used nationwide since 2000 under the MUTCD, showing a yellow warning square with a pedestrian and a bicycle; yellow signs are considered advisory, and not legally binding.

Good idea. Three Chattanooga, Tennessee microbreweries host weekly bike nights. Although if anyone tried that here, you’d probably have cops lined up outside waiting for anyone biking under the influence.

A 38-year old Raleigh, North Carolina woman was under the influence, driving with a suspended license and had her six kids under ten years old in her car when she hit and killed a 69-year old man out for a midnight bike ride.

A North Carolina cyclist is calling for safety changes in the state, after two young men he knew were killed in the Milligan University massacre, saying he raced with or against every victim of the crash.

 

International

A writer for Cycling Weekly says riding a fixed-gear bike is the best way to demonstrate your superiority over riders on carbon superbikes. Although the name of the magazine describes by own riding style these days, of cycling weakly. 

Speaking of good ideas, Calgary, Alberta, hosted a women’s-only Gran Fondo, with 180 women lining up for timed rides of 25 and 44 miles.

Two English men, ages 31 and 24, face murder charges for killing a 27-year old man riding a bicycle by punching him in an unprovoked attack.

A bike route crosses four European countries, crossing from the Netherlands through Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg on the Vennbahn, and ending with a soak in Aachen, Germany’s historic thermal baths.

Momentum says Japan’s newest national bike route draws a 101-mile circle around Mount Fuji, combining bicycling with mountain scenery, cultural attractions and “some very good reasons to stop for ice cream.”

Australia’s Bicycle Networks says a new bike and pedestrian bridge marks another step forward for Sydney as a bicycling city.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mauritian cyclist Kim Le Court-Pienaar won the women’s Tour of Britain by a 24-second margin, after claiming the leader’s jersey with an uphill solo attack on stage three; Lorena Wiebes finished second by claiming four of the five stages, just not the one that counted. 

Twenty-one-year old British rider Matthew Brennan won the second stage of the Vuelta, the longest stage the race’s 21 stages, as Tadej Pogačar held on to the leader’s red jersey; as it now stands, Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan are second and third.

Julian Alaphilippe says he’s done with pro cycling, and is calling it a career “with immediate effect” at age 34.

 

Finally…

If you’re underage and riding an illegal e-moto, try not to crash directly in front of the cop shop. If at REI you don’t spend, your car’s not welcome here in Bend.

And yes, a bright kit will make you more visible to everyone. Thanks to Norm for the link.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

State senate committee votes to keep drunks on road, driver didn’t brake in Milligan massacre, and LA sued for Pershing Drive death

August 21, 2026 / / One comment

Evidently, Sacramento legislators support drunk drivers.

Or at least one does, anyway.

The Senate Appropriations Committee, led by Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, approved a hostile amendment that gutted a bill that would have required interlock devices for drivers convicted of DUI.

The bill, which has widespread support, would simply have brought the state in line with most other states, which already require the devices.

According to CalMatters,

Cervantes, you might remember, was arrested for a DUI in Sacramento last year, but prosecutors chose not to press charges after a blood test found she had “no measurable amount of drugs or alcohol in her system.” (She later sued the Sacramento Police Department, arguing the arrest was discriminatory and in retaliation for her legislation restricting police data collection.)

Her sister, Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, has two DUI convictions.

So anyone whose loved ones are killed by any drunk drivers with a previous DUI can send the thank you card directly to Cervantes office.

And hey, let’s have another one for the road.

Thanks to Joel for the heads-up.

………

More fallout from the crash that killed two members of the Milligan University cycling team, and injured seven others — nine casualties out of the eleven member team.

The crash occurred when the car ahead of driver John Alexander Benfield moved from the right lane to the left lane. But rather than follow the first driver to the other lane to avoid the team, Benfield smashed into them, with investigators alleging he didn’t brake or take any other evasive action to avoid them.

It’s’s not even clear if Benfield ever saw the cycling team before plowing into them.

A county deputy helping to secure the scene allegedly detected the odor of marijuana coming from Benfield’s car.

You know, just a little wake and bake behind the wheel.

Allegedly.

Milligan University sophomores Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers, both 19, died at the scene.

I said yesterday that Engdahl was from Kenosha, Illinois, but he was actually from Kenosha, Wisconsin; the other victim, Brayden Rogers, was a native of Huntsville, Alabama.

At last report, four of the surviving victims remained in critical condition in the ICU; three required surgery from the orthopedic trauma team, and one will require additional surgery.

Meanwhile, Benfield remained in custody after his bail was doubled to $300,000.

………

No surprise here, as the husband of fallen bicyclist Regan Cole-Graham announced plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles.

Matthew Graham alleges that his wife’s death, along with that of his unborn daughter Ophelia, resulted from the removal of bike lanes from Pershing Drive, endangering bicyclists and ultimately leading to the deadly crash.

The 87-year old driver hasn’t been charged, supporting the argument that the crash was caused by poor road design.

I have argued since the bike lanes were installed in 2017, then ripped out months later to appease angry pass-through motorists, that the city would ultimately be responsible for any future deaths that occurred there.

Now Los Angeles taxpayers will be on the hook for yet another costly settlement — one that could easily reach into eight figures, because the city knowingly created a situation that was less safe than it had been when the bike lanes were installed.

But there’s no amount that could make these needless deaths right.

………

This has nothing to do bikes, or anything else this site normally discusses.

But I literally laughed out loud when I stumbled on outraged articles about Australia’s national debt topping $1 trillion dollars, the same week the US national debt topped $40 trillion — a difference of a mere $39,000,000,000,000.

Never mind that $1 trillion Australian dollars equals just over $700 billion USD.

………

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

A London bike rider says we have met the enemy, and he is us, arguing that cars aren’t the problem, and bike riders have to look to their own ranks to improve safety.

In a typical over-response to ebikes, bicycles of all types will now be banned from the historic city center of Como, Italy, after Mayor Alessandro Rapinese was struck by an ebike rider in June; bike riders will now be forced to dismount and walk their bikes.

………

Local 

Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman debated in Sherman Oaks on Wednesday, with questioners seemingly dedicated to protecting established businesses and homeowners, and opposing increased housing allowed under SB 79. My main takes were 1) Bass doesn’t seem to know she’s been mayor for three years, when she could have gotten a lot done, but didn’t, and 2) LAist probably didn’t need to talk over Bass and Raman with a station ID every ten minutes, as if we all had no idea who or what we were listening to.

More on CicLAvia returning to Pasadena this November after a ten-year absence.

Santa Monica drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians are urged to slow down and stay alert as the new school year begins. Good advice, but do they really want people to walk slower near schools? 

 

State

Orange County DA Todd Spitzer is hosting what may be the country’s first ebike buyback event, providing up to $1,000 in an effort to get illegal e-motos and hacked ebikes off the road; the first 75 people will also get two Angels baseball tickets. There’s probably no truth to the rumor that the next 75 people will have to take four Angels tickets. Thanks to Edward for the tip.

San Diego is one of the largest US cities without a bikeshare system, something local bicyclists want to change, seven years after the city’s DecoBike system went down the drain. But you’ll have to get past the Union-Tribune’s draconian paywall if you want to read it. 

San Diego’s Bike the Bay rolls for the 19th year on Sunday, giving local riders their only opportunity to pedal across the city’s iconic San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge. Although to be honest, the ferry is more fun, anyway. 

 

National

You know bikes are taking over when a new bike park opens in windswept Laramie, Wyoming, in the middle of cowboy country.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an ebike from a Derby, Kansas father who was declared legally blind earlier this year, taking away his only form of transportation and forcing him to miss work.

Tragic news from New York, where a 51-year old father called his wife to say he was just minutes from their home; moments later a hit-and-run driver doing an estimated 100 mph ran a red light and slammed into him on his bicycle, no doubt killing him instantly. Have I mentioned lately that hit-and-run drivers one the lowest forms of human scum occupying the earth? I didn’t think so. And don’t get me started on excessive speeding. 

 

International

Bike Radar presents their short list for Bike of the Year.

The Guardian goes riding up Norway’s Mjølkevegen, as bicyclists are discover “the road’s breathtaking panoramas of peaks and lakes, dotted with cozy inns.” Although you shouldn’t be allowed to ride it unless you can pronounce it. 

An Australian researcher says yes, ebike subsidies and safer infrastructure matters, but what will really encourage more people to ride bikes is having sufficient skills, confidence and support to ride.

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-two-year old Welsh cyclist Josh Tarling will line up for the start of the Vuelta a España for his Netcompany-Ineos team, just one week after his 19-year old brother Finlay was killed when a van driver got onto the course at the Volta a Portugal last Friday.

Calls to improve safety in professional cycling have only gotten louder in the week since Tarling’s death.

The same thing that happened to Tarling nearly happened to Aussie cyclist Maeve Plouffe at the women’s Tour of Britain as she was trying to catch up to the peloton after a puncture, and was almost struck head-on by a driver in a roundabout when traffic was allowed back on the course before all the riders had cleared.

It happened again on the race’s second stage, when the stage was neutralized for an hour due to a traffic collision ahead of the riders, as UCI seems incapable of keeping a race course clear long enough to run a race; Dutch superstar Lorena Wiebes has won both stages so far.

The BBC says the Tour of Britain is inspiring more Muslim women to ride bikes; then again, they said the same thing about the Tour de France Femmes. And once again, you’ll have to get past their paywall if you want to read it.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a runaway pig evades an ebike rider, and ends up living with Grammy-winning Hollywood celeb. Or when using cracked pavement as a bike stand becomes an internet bicycle meme.

And this is what you call a scary effing close call.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

Driver mows down elite college cycling team, killing two and injuring seven; and Michigan Make-A-Wish killer begs for reduced sentence

August 20, 2026 / / No comments

A beautiful Appalachian highway became a death trap for members of an elite college cycling team yesterday morning.

Two members of the Milligan University cycling team were killed, and seven others injured — four critically — when a 69-year old driver plowed into the whole fucking team.

Sophomores Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers, students at the small Christian liberal arts college, were killed. The small private university is located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, in the northeastern corner of the state.

A CNN report offers photos of the victims, one of whom, 19-year old Haylan Engdahl, graduated high school in Kenosha, Illinois.

And yes, it feels like an extra gut punch to share my last name with one of the victims.

The driver, Newland, North Carolina resident John Benfield, was arrested and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide by recklessness and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle by recklessness. At last report, he had not been released on bond.

It’s not known at this time if he was under the influence.

According to NBC News,

Sam Rogers said he passed by the accident. At first, he saw Carter County sheriff’s vehicles and ambulances arriving, and then he came upon the aftermath.

“I was horrified to see numerous crumpled bikes. There was a person on the road injured and another covered in blood being helped,” Rogers said. “The bicycles were completely destroyed.”

They were only 11 miles from the campus when Benfield somehow managed to take out over 80% of the 11 team members on the training ride.

At least the other seven beat the odds. The speed limit on that section of Tennessee Highway 19 is 50 mph, which means the victims had a 25% chance of survival if the driver was doing the speed limit, according to AAA.

And as we all know, the chances of a driver actually doing the speed limit or less is somewhere south of nil.

One victim has been released from the hospital, and two others were in stable condition.

Below is a statement from the university.

According to CBS News,

“This is an elite cycling team. It’s not a bunch of club guys getting together to ride. They know what they are doing,” said Carter County District Attorney Steven Finney.

Milligan’s men’s cycling team won the team time trial at the USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals in Wisconsin earlier this year.

There’s no word at this time on how the crash occurred, other than it was at or near a curve in the roadway.

This is yet another tragic reminder that a driver’s license allows someone to operate a weapon of mass destruction, which even in the right hands is just one critical error from becoming a ground-hugging ballistic missile.

As for the wrong hands, just go back and read this again.

To argue that something like this should never happen is an obvious understatement. Yet it does, far too frequently.

And I’m sick to death of shedding tears and saying prayers for people I don’t even know.

To wit, see below.

Thanks to Mike and Al for the heads-up.

………

Michigan driver Mandy Marie Benn could have her sentence shortened for the 2022 crash that killed two people and injured three others taking part in a Make-A-Wish bicycle ride.

A jury found Benn guilty on 15 counts, including two counts of 2nd degree murder, possessing prescription drugs, operating while intoxicated causing serious death and reckless driving causing death. She was sentenced to two consecutive 35- to 60-year terms in prison.

According to WLNS 6 News,

The deadly crash happened four years ago on Stage Road in Ronald Township, northeast of Ionia, as Mandy Marie Benn was driving north. She tried to pass a truck, driving into the path of bicyclists participating in a Make-A-Wish bicycle tour. Two cyclists were killed: Edward Erickson, 48, of Ann Arbor, and Michael Salhaney, 57, of Bloomfield Hills. Three others were hurt. The prosecution said evidence showed that Benn had a prescription medication called Lorazepam, a sedative that had not been prescribed to her, in her system at the time of the crash.

Now her attorney is arguing that her sentences should have been applied concurrently, rather than consecutively, and an appeals court has sent it back to the trial judge to explain why the consecutive sentences were imposed.

She’ll have a hearing in November to argue her case.

Personally, I don’t care if her sentences are consecutive, concurrent or inside out as long as she never gets out from behind bars.

………

Somehow, this seems like a good place to mention that I have a new and improved design for one of my earlier T-shirts, which also comes in yellow and blue versions, now that I have a slightly better idea what the hell I’m doing.

Because it’s true, and they do. As too many of us have learned the hard way, myself included.

………

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

A judge ordered work on a Crown Height, New York bike lane halted, after a resident asserted the city had broken the law by failing to notify her, and hadn’t provide equired certifications showing consultations with FDNY, NYPD, Small Business Services and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities; needless to say, the NYDOT begs to differ.

A Canadian website argues that The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent unanimous decision allowing the provincial government to rip out Toronto bike lanes over the objection of city leaders is about much more important issues than just bike lanes. I’m sure that will come as cold comfort to the riders now forced to confront city traffic, or the impatient drivers following behind them.

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

A 59-year old British Columbia man now believes bicyclists should be licensed and insured, after he was struck by another rider while on his own bike, after the second man crashed into him at a signalized crosswalk, leaving him with a broken humerus, a crushed rotator cuff, metal plates, stitches and screws in his shoulder; without a ride home, he posted his situation on Facebook, and a kindhearted stranger picked him up from the hospital, and got his pain meds for him.

………

Local 

Culver City is the first SoCal city to have Amazon deliveries made by e-cargo bikes, even if they look like mini cargo vans.

Long Beach is hosting its sixth annual Long Beach Safe Streets Awareness Week, returning with the theme of “Long Beach Moves Together.” Which is undoubtedly the most times I’ve ever used “Long Beach” in a single sentence.

 

State

California Streetsblog’s Damien Newton talks with Streets Are For Everyone founder Damian Kevitt about the last minute votes pending in the state legislature before it adjourns next week.

Streets For All says your help is needed to keep critical transit funding off the state chopping block.

This is who we share the road with. Heartbreaking news from Huntington Beach, where a 74-year old man in a motorized wheelchair was killed by a driver as he was crossing the street.

This is who we share the road with, part two. San Jose police are looking for a road-raging driver who stabbed two people during an altercation, at an intersection where residents have long complained about speeding drivers. But apparently not stabbing ones, until now. 

 

National

A 17-year old high school senior from Arizona likely set a new record for riders under 18 by finishing the 2,700-mile Tour Divide Race in just 20 days, as well as completing both the Arizona and Colorado Trails, making him the youngest person to finish the Triple Crown of bikepacking. And I was today years old when I learned there’s a Triple Crown of bikepacking. 

A Washington State newspaper patiently explains that bike riders aren’t breaking the law by running stop signs, because the Idaho Stop is legal there — and not stopping is safe than stopping. Would someone please explain that to Gavin Newsom, who’s vetoed it twice? Wait, don’t bother. He’ll either be President Newsom or unemployed in a couple years, anyway. 

A Colorado man claimed he thought he’d hit a deer when police tracked him down three weeks after he hit and killed a man riding a bicycle, and just kept going; he had the car repaired in the meantime, and evidently no one bothered to tell him the damage came from a human being. Call me crazy, but wouldn’t most people at least stop to examine the damage to their car if they thought they’d hit a large animal — let alone see if it was okay?

As if today’s news wasn’t bad enough, the family of a Springfield, Missouri couple filed a lawsuit against the parents of a young child, arguing the couple encountered the kid in the roadway as they were riding their bikes, and had to choose between hitting the child or crashing into an embankment; they chose the embankment, and both suffered catastrophic injuries, with the husband dying two weeks after the crash, and the wife suffering “permanent and disabling” injuries.

Streetsblog celebrates the “one-of-a-kind” bike path on the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, despite — or maybe because of — Trump’s unsuccessful efforts to kill it.

Hoboken, New Jersey risks its perfect Vision Zero record after the city council voted to end a bike lane project a couple months early, even as the mayor pledged to keep it open in the planned October end date.

When is a bike lane not a bike lane? When a Philadelphia funeral home uses the protected bike land to stage funeral processions, while apparently trying to drum up additional business.

 

International

Cycling Electric offers tips on how to choose a cargo bike, as well as loading and riding it safely.

Good for them. A group of English kids faced down a bulldozer to save a 20-year old DIY bike park.

That’s more like it. Reported bike thefts from UK train stations dropped 11%, while the number of thieves charged for stealing bikes from them more than doubled after police reversed a policy of not investigating thefts if the bikes had been there more than two hours.

Must be nice. A South Korean city is automatically insuring all of its more than 900,000 residents against injuries or liability when riding a bicycle or personal mobility devices.

A New Zealand writer places tongue very firmly in cheek, and writes about the harrowing passage of crossing the street outside the prime minister’s former residence, after he complained “to a crowd of no doubt weeping voters” about “a whole bunch of bike lanes…that made it very difficult for me getting from my apartment into the parliamentary precinct,” even though it’s been two years since he’s lived there. I need to send The Spinoff politics writer Lyric Waiwiri-Smith a thank you card, because I really needed that after today’s news.

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch pro Lorena Wiebes responded to the death of 19-year old Welsh cyclist Finlay Tarling as she lined up for the opening stage of the women’s Tour of Britain, saying “Parents shouldn’t fear their children not coming home from a race.” Or a training ride, for that matter. 

EF Education-EasyPost chief Jonathan Vaughters blasted UCI for its focus on “ridiculous little” safety measures, such as minimum handlebar widths, “when they’re unable to keep traffic off the road.”

A Colorado man set a new course record in winning the 53rd Annual Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, shaving two minutes off the previous mark, and moving LA-based former pro Phil Gaimon’s 2022 course record down into third place.

 

Finally…

Call him the Pied Piper of bicyclists. That feeling when you campaign against drug use by popping a 1,400 mile wheelie, convincing everyone else you must be on drugs.

And if you’re attacked by a grizzly, don’t try to whack it with your bike.

I mean, seriously.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

Huntington Beach ebike rider dies in solo crash, 5 lousy years for doubly fatal 124 mph crash, and Bass demands Forest Lawn Drive keep sucking

August 19, 2026 / / No comments

My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

I’m using a form of topical chemo to treat a couple minor skin cancers on my face, which doesn’t seem to play well with my other meds. I tried to work through it Monday, but just kept feeling worse and worse as the night wore on. 

So seriously, use sunscreen, already. 

Photo by Tucă Bianca from Pexels. 

………

The Huntington Beach Police Department reports that a man 21-year old man died after a single vehicle ebike crash.

After giving it a lot of thought, I’ve decided to only write about ebike deaths when the story actually refers to a bicycle, since we often can’t be sure whether the victim was on a ped-assist bike, or an illegal e-motrbike.

While the Huntington Beach cops do call the victim of this crash a bicyclist, it sounds more like an e-moto crash than an electric bicycle.

I could be wrong, though. Here’s the full HBPD press release.

On Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at approximately 12:30 p.m., the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) responded to a traffic collision at the intersection of Warner Avenue and Plaza Lane regarding a single-vehicle collision involving an e-bike.

Upon arrival, officers located the e-bike rider, a 21-year-old man from Westminster, unconscious on the sidewalk next to the roadway. Paramedics were called to the scene and the bicyclist was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. On July 26, 2026, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased. It is unknown if impairment was a factor with the rider of the e-bike.

Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears the e-bike was westbound on Warner Avenue west of Plaza Lane when the rider lost control and went down.

The collision investigation is ongoing and is being handled by the HBPD Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT). Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or events leading up to it is encouraged to contact HBPD Traffic Investigator Vishal Rattanchandani at (714) 536-5231.

Thanks to Bill for the heads-up. 

………

This is who we share the road with.

A 21-year old Pico Rivera man has been sentenced to a lousy five years and four month behind bars for killing two passengers in his car two years ago.

Leonardo Rodriguez was allegedly doing 124 mph on the Ventura Freeway in Ventura County, when he tried to pass a slower vehicle on the right shoulder of the roadway, and slammed into the back of a stopped semi.

His girlfriend and another man were both thrown from the car, and died at the scene.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty to two felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter in June, and was sentenced on Friday.

There’s something seriously wrong with California’s overly lenient traffic laws when recklessly taking two lives amounts to just 32 months apiece. And a lot less than that given California’s prison overcrowding and early release programs.

In some states, he would have faced a pair of life sentences. And even a plea deal would have resulted in at least a couple decades in jail.

I’m not a fan of today’s prison industrial system, which simply warehouses inmates instead of offering them any form of rehabilitation. We desperately need a better system.

But sentences like this, for a crime like that, shows just how un-serious this state is about traffic violence.

………

Streets Are For Everyone issued a new report covering the fiasco on deadly Forest Lawn Drive, calling Mayor Bass’ halting of the safety project a “poster child” for why LA streets are so dangerous.

I’m including their full press release below.

And yeah, I’m pretty effing pissed off about it, too.

New Report Questions Why Los Angeles Paused a Fully Funded Safety Project on One of Its Dangerous Roads
SAFE’s report examines Forest Lawn Drive, how dangerous it is, and how a 1-mile road safety project has become the poster child for why roads across LA City are so dangerous.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Streets Are For Everyone today released a new report examining why a fully funded safety improvement project on Forest Lawn Drive was halted despite years of public planning, extensive community outreach, and documented safety concerns.

Titled “Forest Lawn Drive: Why a Fully Funded Road Safety Project Was Delayed,” the report explores how a road known for speeding, serious crashes, and a lack of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure became the focus of a political intervention that stopped construction just weeks before work was scheduled to begin. It also examines the broader question of whether Los Angeles is prioritizing road safety at a time when traffic violence continues to claim more lives than homicides for the third year in a row.

“Forest Lawn Drive is about much more than one road,” said Damian Kevitt, Executive Director of Streets Are For Everyone. “It is a case study in how difficult it has become to build proven safety improvements, even after years of planning, community engagement, environmental review, and secured funding. When projects like this can be stopped at the last minute, it sends a troubling message about how unimportant the safety of those using LA roads is.”

Forest Lawn Drive serves as an important connection for bicycle commuters between Griffith Park, Glendale, Hollywood, and the San Fernando Valley. Yet approximately one mile of the corridor has no sidewalk, no bicycle lane, a badly damaged shoulder, and a posted speed limit of 45 mph. According to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, 95 reported collisions occurred along this section between 2013 and 2023, including crashes that seriously injured or killed three people. Just a few days ago, on August 13th, another person died in a fiery crash on Forest Lawn Drive.

To better understand current conditions, SAFE volunteers conducted more than 14 hours of independent speed surveys during the summer of 2026. The organization found that 53 percent of drivers exceeded the posted speed limit, with one in five traveling between 51 and 75 mph while passing just inches away from people walking, running, and bicycling.

The City’s proposed Forest Lawn Drive Safety and Mobility Project would have reconfigured the roadway to calm traffic, reduce dangerous passing and lane changes, add separated bicycle facilities, and improve conditions for everyone using the corridor. According to LA DOT, the redesign would have had little impact on travel times for most drivers while significantly improving safety.

Construction was scheduled to begin in 2026 but was halted after Mayor Karen Bass directed LA DOT to review alternatives that would maintain all existing traffic lanes. The report notes that this decision followed lobbying efforts by Forest Lawn Cemetery and Mount Sinai Memorial Park, which opposed the planned lane reductions.

Beyond the Forest Lawn Drive project itself, the report also examines the City’s broader investment priorities. It notes that while Los Angeles has substantially increased spending on policing and homelessness programs in recent years, funding specifically dedicated to the Vision Zero Program has been cut by 59%.

SAFE is encouraging residents, transportation professionals, policymakers, and community leaders to read the report and participate in an informed public discussion about how Los Angeles prioritizes road safety and delivers life-saving infrastructure projects.

The full report is available at: www.streetsareforeveryone.org/blog/forest-lawn-drive

………

As long as we’re doing press releases and turning this into an epic post, here’s another one announcing a city hall demonstration next week about the city’s backsliding on a legal settlement to fix the crumbling sidewalks.

10 Years After $1.37 Billion Sidewalk Settlement, Advocates Ask: Is LA Moving Forward or Backward?
The Willits SLIDE brings disability advocates to City Hall for a civic performance marking a decade of the landmark accessibility settlement

LOS ANGELES — Ten years after a landmark settlement committed Los Angeles to spending $1.37 billion over 30 years to make its sidewalks and curb ramps accessible, disability and mobility advocates will gather at City Hall on Tuesday, August 25, at 9:00 AM to ask a simple question: Is Los Angeles actually moving forward?

Their answer will take the form of The Willits SLIDE, a civic performance in which participants move forward and backward together, physically representing a decade of progress and setbacks since the Willits v. City of Los Angeles settlement.

The City has spent more than $333 million during the settlement’s first 10 years. Yet broken pavement, missing curb ramps and inaccessible paths continue to create barriers for Angelenos who use wheelchairs, white canes, walkers and other mobility devices.

Advocates are also highlighting a costly contradiction: while approximately over $30 million annually is allocated toward Willits improvements, the City has spent roughly $40 million more annually settling sidewalk-related injury claims.

“The Willits settlement was a landmark victory for disability rights, but spending the money isn’t the same as delivering accessible streets,” said Alex Ramirez with Los Angeles Walks.

“Ten years later, we’re asking what it will take to stop moving backward and fix our sidewalks for good,” said Reanne Estrada, Artist and Creative Director of Public Matters, which developed the civic performance. 

The performance is the latest action from the Boo-Boo Bandage Brigade, a Downtown LA coalition using art, humor and civic action to advocate for lasting solutions to broken street infrastructure.

“Disability advocates have challenged us to make Downtown a blueprint for accessibility across Los Angeles,” said Hilary Norton of FastLink DTLA, who leads the coalition-building effort. “That means working together to build a system that works for everyone.”

Alongside stronger implementation of the Willits settlement, advocates are calling on the City to fast-track its Capital Infrastructure Program to better coordinate how Los Angeles plans, funds, repairs and maintains sidewalks and other public infrastructure.

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

  • The Willits SLIDE: A visual civic performance in front of Los Angeles City Hall
  • Disability advocates sharing their experiences navigating LA’s sidewalks
  • Boo-Boo Bandage Brigade props and visual installations
  • Interviews with advocates about the Willits settlement, sidewalk liability costs and long-term infrastructure solutions

ABOUT THE WILLITS SLIDE

The Willits SLIDE is a civic performance marking the 10-year anniversary of the Willits v. City of Los Angeles settlement. Through a collective movement forward and backward, participants will make visible both the progress and unfinished work of making Los Angeles’ sidewalks accessible to everyone.

The action is part of the ongoing work of the Boo-Boo Bandage Brigade, which uses art, humor, disability justice and civic engagement to draw attention to failing street infrastructure while advocating for lasting solutions.

Coalition partners include: Public Matters, FASTLinkDTLA, DTLA Mobility for All, Los Angeles Walks, CALIF, disability justice advocates and community partners.

Somehow, we can host a World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but we can’t house the homeless, pick up the trash, fix the potholes or do anything about the damn sidewalks.

Chop wood, carry water.

Do the basics first.

………

Thanks to David for sharing his own extensive views of the new bike and pedestrian bridge over the 5 Freeway in Irvine, as well as the surrounding park.

………

Very few people ever looked this good on a bike. Even if he was probably just posing for a promotional photo.

Bluesky post

………

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

An apparent road-raging driver plowed his truck down the flimsy plastic bollards “protecting” Santa Monica’s 23rd Street Bike Lane. More proof that plastic won’t protect anyone.

No bias here. Hoodline says Berkeley is ripping out 145 parking spaces to build protected bike lanes on one of the city’s most contested streets. Never mind that the project is intended to save lives on a deadly street; the way they frame it makes the loss of parking the most important detail. 

In a truly sickening story, a Pennsylvania man pled guilty to 3rd degree murder for knocking a 40-year old man off his bicycle, then beating the victim to death with his own bike, even though he says he doesn’t remember it, after prosecutors dropped a 1st degree murder charge as part of a plea deal; the vicious attack came just half an hour after the suspect was released from Central Booking, where he had been held for some unknown reason.

If local leaders even oppose a lighted bike path through a Bath, England park, why are they called the Green Party?

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

A driving website calls out a “goofball” bicyclist who ran a red light, directly in front of a Burbank pedestrian with the right-of-way. And while they’ve got a point, just wait until they see the crazy things drivers do.

Reddit post

London’s Daily Mail gets its knickers in a wad over a report that 60% of bike riders don’t stop for pedestrians at floating bus stops, accusing scofflaw riders of “dicing with death.” Yes, you should always stop for pedestrians. But maybe someone should tell them that exactly zero pedestrians have been killed by bicyclists at London’s floating bus stops, and only six pedestrians were injured by bike riders at the city’s floating bus stops in 2024, compared with 11,400 pedestrians injured by motorists in London over the same period.

………

Local 

Letter writers to the Southern California News Group discuss ebikes, though you may need a shower after reading them, even if the last two seem to get it.  Although that’s the first time in years I’ve clicked on a story in the Los Angeles Daily News without crashing into their paywall. 

The Times of India, of all sources, writes that the owners of Redondo Cyclery refused to sell in the 1980s, so Redondo Beach built the Redondo Shores shopping center around it. Although their ChatGPT image of a small, family-owned bike shop surrounded by a larger development is probably the funniest thing you’ll see all day. 

 

State

California Streetsblog updates the legislative agenda, highlighting the more important transportation bills still alive as the legislature moves to floor votes; among the bills is one that would increase the penalties for DUI, and another redefining the differences between electric bicycles and electric motorbikes. Maybe if it passes the cops and media will stop calling any damn thing with two wheels and a battery a damn ebike, already. 

Meanwhile, CalMatters calls out the legislature’s inability to pass California transportation bills that matter.

Sad news from Monterey County, where a 58-year old man was killed by a semi driver in a right hook while riding his bicycle.

San Francisco bicyclists demand a safer Market Street, after the city’s previous mayor cancelled plans for protected bike lanes. Which sounds oddly familiar, somehow.

 

National

A new study shows just six 30 second sprints on a bicycle does far more to lower your risk of diabetes and obesity than 90 minutes of moderate bicycling.

Despite all the handwringing and pearl clutching, 55% of ebike-related deaths over an eight-year period involved a motor vehicle, and only 6% involved pedestrians. And yes, that appears to include anything with two wheels and a battery.

World Atlas looks at the steepest roads in the US, including our very own Eldridge and Baxter streets.

Escape Collective writes about Joe Bell, calling him the Godfather of bicycle painting. Although as usual, you’ll run into their paywall after a few paragraphs.

This one hits a little close to home for me, after a 15-year old kid who was passionate about bicycling was killed by a driver while riding his bicycle on the sidewalk, in the small, rural Alaska town my brother called home for several decades; the boy’s parents understandably call it “every parent’s worst nightmare.” A crowdfunding page has raised nearly $81,000 of the $90,000 goal.

Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park has gone against the recent anti-bike lane DEI insanity coming out of Washington, and approved plans for a fully separated paved bike path along one of the key roadways in the park. If you ever get a chance to bike through the Tetons, take it. 

A Bozeman, Montana mountain biker says sometimes the smartest thing he does on a bike is get off it. Wiser words were never said.

He’s got my vote. An Oklahoma Democrat running for Congress is campaigning by bicycle, riding through all 14 counties in his district to meet with the voters. Not to mention it helps take some of the suck out of campaigning.

Great idea. A Wheaton, Illinois United Methodist Church is hosting “Bike to Church Sunday” on August 30th, but invites churchgoers to ride to services any other Sunday, too.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani finally acceded to the demands of his constituents — or the tabloids, anyway — and wore a little plastic hat that will magically make him impervious to motor vehicles. Look, I’m a firm believer in bike helmets, but they’re made to protect you from falling off your bike at relatively slow speeds, not protect from a driver doing 20 miles over the speed limit. They may help, but they’re not magic. 

A New Jersey website says ebike sales are off anywhere from 20 percent to 90 percent since the state passed a requirement for licensing and registration for any type of ebike, regardless of speed.

A kindhearted Pennsylvania police sergeant paused his patrols to help a boy fix his bike, popping the chain back in place while the kids peppered him with questions about being a cop.

Those boots may have been made for walking, but Nancy Sinatra apparently took them on tandem bike rides with Elvis Presley during the filming of Speedway at North Carolina’s Charlotte Motor Speedway. No word on whether he wore his blue suede shoes. 

 

International

Cycling News looks at the Wild West world of buying used kits. Sorry, but I draw the line at putting my parts where someone else’s pits and bits have been. 

A British Columbia road biker more or less bunny hopped a dying deer, riding over it after it was thrown directly into his path when a driver in an SUV crashed into it.

A Calgary writer says it’s time to accommodate all modes of transportation on Canada’s roads, even if an Ontario high court ruling that the province can rip out Toronto bike lanes over the objection of city leaders is likely to embolden Alberta to do the same. Although the conservative National Post is all in on the ruling.

Cambridge, England became the first city in the UK to institute a speed limit for bicycles, restricting bikes to 15 mph on a busy 16-mile bike lane running through the city. Call me crazy, but 15 mph seems reasonable under the circumstance. 

An English farmer says no, maniacal ebike riders did not chase his horses, claiming news reports had been blown out of proportion. And even if they had chased those ponies, it’s unlikely they would have been riding the kind of ped-assist bike used to illustrate the story. 

A British bicyclist starts a conversation about the condition of the roads by taking a photo of his bike wheels securely wedged in a deep crevasse in a local highway.

Road.cc examines just how good Mallorca, Spain really is for bicycling.

 

Competitive Cycling

A new report says bystanders waved the van driver onto the course where 19-year old Welsh cyclist Finlay Tarling was killed during the 8th stage of the Volta a Portugal on Friday. The photo of his shattered race bike is just heartbreaking. 

The race resumed Saturday with Alexis Guérin wearing a black jersey instead of the usual yellow leader’s jersey, and the peloton wearing black armbands, following a moment of silence before the race; Guérin was the eventual winner after Sunday’s final stage.

A crowdfunding campaign launched by Tarling’s manager has raised the equivalent of over $84,000 to help other young riders realize their cycling dreams.

An Aussie cyclist explains why road racing can never be entirely safe. But allowing a driver onto a narrow road course before the entire peloton has passed is a major fuckup that can, and should, be avoided. 

An ill-timed appendectomy cost former USPro crit champ Lucas Bourgoyne a shot at winning the American Criterium Cup. Then again, is there ever a good time for an appendectomy?

 

Finally…

That feeling when you try, but ultimately fail, to catch a runaway pig with your ebike. Your next ped-assist ebike could be a Harley-Davidson — though not, sadly, a hog.

And remembering those heady days of the ’60s and ’70s, when kids dreamed of muscle cars and rode muscle bikes.

Although my hand-me-down bike looked more like the one on the right, if you added red and white streamers to the handgrips.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

CicLAvia returns to Pasadena, 19-year old Welsh cyclist killed in Portugal race when driver enters the course, and why Trump hates bike lanes

August 17, 2026 / / One comment

The Little Old Lady from Pasadena can leave her bright red Super Stock Dodge in the garage this November.

CicLAvia made the surprise announcement last week that the popular open streets event is returning to Pasadena for the first time since 2015.

It will run down a section of Colorado Boulevard on Sunday, Nov. 15, with the exact route and hours to be announced.

The event appears to be so last minute that it’s not even on the CicLAvia website yet.

Photo of the iconic, 113-year old Colorado Street Bridge by mcbruin from Pixabay; Photo of the memorial to Jackie and Mack Robinson by Mike from Pixabay.

………

Tragic news from Portugal, where 19-year old Welsh cyclist Finlay Tarling was killed during Friday’s 8th stage of the Volta a Portugal; a rider with the NSN Development Team, Tarling was reportedly struck head-on by a van driver who prematurely entered the course after the majority of the peloton had passed.

The stage was neutralized after Darling’s death, and the NSN Development Team pulled its five remaining riders out of the race.

According to IDL Pro Cycling,

At the time of the accident, Finlay Tarling was riding alone, at the back of the pack as a chaser. On a descent, he was going so fast that a GNR support car couldn’t keep up with him. At that moment, there was one other support car—the last car in the race indicating that the peloton had passed (the broom wagon)—and two motorcycles following behind the race.

In principle, all three riders—who had fallen behind at that point—could have had a lead bike, but Tarling was going too fast on a descent. As he took the inside line in a fast left-hand turn, the car suddenly appeared there, driving in its own lane—but of course, it should never have been on the course at that moment.

The driver reportedly had waited for the racers to pass, and when he didn’t see anyone else coming, he asked if the race was over and it was okay to enter the course. After waiting a little, he pulled onto the course, with tragic results.

The driver tested negative for drugs or alcohol, and isn’t expected to face charges.

Cycling News reports Finlay was the brother of Josh Tarling, a cyclist on the Netcompany-Ineos team, and expected develop a successful career.

Needless to say, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), the union for pro cyclists, was angry over what was described as a “catastrophic” lack of security. 

We are speechless and filled with anger after the news of Finlay Tarling’s death at the Tour of Portugal,” the CPA posted. “It is not right that a young athlete’s life should end this way, and we are furious that even today it is still not possible to prevent such serious accidents.”

The president of NSN Cycling called for better helmets in the wake of Tarling’s death.

“One thing we have to look at is helmets. They need a major upgrade. Bike helmets only need to meet standard testing like all helmets, EU standard CE EN 1078 is only rated for 19.5km/h (12.11 mph) and I do not believe this is enough for road racing.”

(Actually, that’s not enough for anything other than falling off a beach cruiser after too many fruity cocktails; I’ve long complained about the lack of protection offered by bicycle helmets.)

Darling’s parents released a statement, asking you to think of him the next time you clip into your pedals.

………

The Skepchick podcast considers why Donald Trump hates bike lanes.

My guess is he just didn’t get enough fawning admiration from cyclists when he briefly ran the Tour de Trump.

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A Denver news report says a raging Colorado wildfire threatens the population Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race, and all the financial benefits it brings to the struggling mountain town.

Thanks to Megan for the heads-up.

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

A 71-year old Upstate New York man faces charges for a road rage attack on a bike rider, swerving his car at the bicyclist and cutting the rider off, then pepper-spraying and kicking the victim in the face; he faces counts for assault in the third degree, reckless endangerment in the second degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford won the lawsuit attempting to stop him from ripping out Toronto’s bike lanes, as the Ontario Court of Appeal, the province’s highest court, ruled in his favor, but a Toronto website reminds readers its an election year there, too, and they can voice their displeasure at the ballot box.

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Local 

Courthouse News considers the struggle to close the eight-mile gap in the Los Angeles River bike path through DTLA, Vernon and Maywood. Maybe because the process has been such a trial up to this point. 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton checks out the new concrete curb-protected bike lane on Clark Ave in Long Beach.

 

State

Police in Irvine used a “specialized K9 officer and cutting-edge drone technology” to recover a high school student’s stolen ebike from an ex-con in a homeless encampment. That’s one very specialized dog if it knows how to pilot a drone. 

LAist celebrates the newfound freedom to bike, skate or walk over the 5 Freeway in Irvine, thanks to a new bike/ped bridge over the busy highway.

Cops in Huntington Beach busted two men for using a fraudulent credit card to order five ebikes valued at more than $8,000 from the Jax Bicycle Center; employees became suspicious due to the size of the purchase.

Writing for the Voice of OC, a 12-year old Laguna Niguel middle school student says Orange County needs ebike safety reform immediately. Although they could have done better than illustrating it with a kid jumping a non-electrified mountain bike. 

The California Coastal Commission finally approved a long-gestating plan to transform much of the northeastern corner of San Diego’s Mission Bay into marshland and recreation space — but not so much for bicycles, after ruling that a planned bike and pedestrian path has to be moved so it doesn’t pass through any wetlands. Although you’ll have to find a way around the Union-Tribune’s paywall if you want to read about it. 

Tragic news from Sacramento, where two ebike riding teens were killed when then were both hit by a truck driver.

 

National

A new national survey shows strong support for sustainable transportation, local energy policies, and green infrastructure investments, though responses varied between urban and rural areas.

He gets it, the hard way. A Nevada bike rider questions why a hit-and-run driver left him lying bleeding in the roadway, saying “I can think of a lot of reasons why someone would hit me, but I can’t think of one good reason why someone would just leave the scene and leave me there.”

A 20-year old Arizona woman was lucky to survive when she was washed off a flooded bridge while trying to cross on her bicycle, then sucked through a flood tunnel; a woman who jumped in to rescue her had to be pulled out, too.

Utah endurance bicyclist Matthew Lefthand set a new world record for averaging 30 mph over 200 miles on a standard upright bicycle.

A Colorado woman says not only did becoming a one-car household reduce her family’s carbon footprint, it also made her life better.

Police in Chicago are looking for a reckless hit-and-run dirt bike rider who left a 45-year old woman riding a bicycle along the lakefront pathway with “catastrophic injuries.”

Tragic news from Indiana, where a 31-year old man drowned after apparently riding his bicycle around warning barricades, and falling into a gap where the road had been washed out.

A Boston suburb proves that Vision Zero works, as Somerville, Massachusetts — population 85,000 — goes four years without a traffic death.

A 63-year old New Jersey man raised $8,836 for a Newark homeless charity by competing in the 3,300-mile cross-country Trans Am Bike Nonstop Race.

A Biloxi, Mississippi couple celebrated their 50th anniversary with a 50-mile bike ride. My wife and I used to celebrate our anniversaries with a bike ride, too — I’d take the bike ride, and she’d celebrate when I made it back in one piece. 

Horrible story from Birmingham, Alabama, where a 39-year old man was killed after he was struck by multiple drivers over an eight-minute period while riding his bike shortly before 4 am, including a sheriff’s deputy in a patrol car.

 

International

Forbes examines the more than 70 World Naked Bike Rides from around the globe, calling it a protest against “indecent exposure to cars.”

Cyclist’s Undercover Mechanic blames a “feast of information but a famine of knowledge” for why bicyclists are so bad at buying bicycles.

A writer for Road.cc says the collapse of Raleigh bikes is a British cultural tragedy, which feels personal to him and other riders of his generation.

An Irish woman rode 374 miles across the island alone to support two friends who had developed lymphoma, raising the equivalent of nearly $9,500 to fight the disease.

Multiple bicyclists have been arrested for violating the Isle of Man’s annual ban on riding the Mountain Road during the summer motorcycle racing season, even if it is the home of Sir Mark Cavendish. Then again, it’s also my ancestral home, which seems to count for nothing. 

The Kazakh Embassy organized a Brussels bike ride to mark the 34th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Belgium.

A 66-year old Israeli man on a solo cycling trip in Finland has been found dead by the side of a road a week after his family lost contact with him; police believe he was the victim of a hit-and-run driver.

Momentum talks with a woman in St. Petersburg, Russia about her bike life, who describes her riding style as agile, unpredictable and fast, even if she rides a heavy retro bike people have called a “circus bike.”

Former South Korean Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yoo In-chon is on a seven-day, six-night pilgrimage to bike to 15 Catholic shrines in the country to mark the first anniversary of his younger brother Bishop Timothy Yoo Kyung-chon’s death.

Great idea. A Sydney, Australia bike scavenger hunt is designed to help riders discover the city, sending them to 15 locations where they have to find a stamp to mark their passport, with locations divided into Parks, Cycleways and Destinations.

 

Competitive Cycling

Wout van Aert demonstrates that he’s not invincible on gravel, as his training parter beats him to the finish at the Belgian Gravel Championships.

Former Argentine one-day classics specialist Juan Antonio Flecha may have retired from the sport, but he hasn’t given up bicycling, telling a writer “a cyclist is someone who lives life with a bicycle, not just someone who does sports,” as he drops his two daughters off at school on his bike.

A writer for Cycling Weekly says the recent Tour de France Femmes has has a major influence on women, who have taken up everyday bicycling as a result of the race.

 

Finally…

Riding naked with a group of other nude and partially clad bicyclists, good; riding pantless by yourself, not so much. Now you, too, can build your very own tandem unicycle.

And this is what you call a major phone fail. Thanks to Steven for the photo.

 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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