Bravo to face trial on fatal Indio hit-and-run, Schrödinger’s Taylor Yard bridge, and Firecracker bike ride goes virtual

January 24, 2022 / / Comments Off on Bravo to face trial on fatal Indio hit-and-run, Schrödinger’s Taylor Yard bridge, and Firecracker bike ride goes virtual

It’s taken almost a year.

But there may be justice for fallen bicyclist Anthony Duran after all.

My News LA is reporting that 29-year old Indio resident Mark Christian Bravo will stand trial for felony hit-and-run involving injury or death, with a sentencing-enhancement of committing the crime while on bail.

The convicted drug dealer was out on bail on an assault charge when he ran down Duran as he was walking his bicycle across an Indio street last February. Bravo kept going without stopping, leaving his victim to die alone in the street.

There’s no indication how long Duran’s body lay there before he was discovered.

Bravo is currently free on $75,000 bail, as well as $85,000 bail for the previous assault case.

If there was any real justice, Mark Bravo would face a 2nd degree murder charge for making a conscious decision to let his victim die, rather that a mere four years for the fatal hit-and-run.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.

………

The new Taylor Yard bike and pedestrian bridge over the LA River is finally open.

Or not.

Like Schrödinger’s cat, it seems to depend on the observer.

https://twitter.com/awalkerinLA/status/1485505272751689731

………

Disappointing, but probably predictable, news, as Chinatown’s annual Firecracker 10k celebration has gone virtual once again.

A press release from the organization says the event, which also includes a 20 or 40 mile bike ride, was changed due to the recent surge in Covid cases due to the Omicron variant.

The 2022 L.A. Chinatown Firecracker events will now take place virtually only with extended participation from now through February 27, 2022. Participants will be able to complete their event(s) by downloading and activating the RaceJoy app on their mobile device. The app will track the participants’ events as they run/walk/ride and record their results. The RaceJoy app provides live GPS progress alerts, tracking, Send-a-Cheer (where participants may receive supportive audio cheers from remote friends and family) and virtual results. Participants may also submit their results manually on the L.A. Chinatown Firecracker registration site.

L.A. Chinatown Firecracker will continue to prioritize the health and safety of all participants and volunteers, including a focus on adherence to public health guidelines. Each registered participant receives a commemorative 2022 Firecracker race bib, exclusive-collectible finisher’s medal, limited edition t-shirt and goody bag.

………

Clearly, you can carry anything on a bicycle.

No, really.

https://twitter.com/GardenerHolger/status/1484254862384799754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1484254862384799754%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-21-january-2022-289711

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

………

Today’s mountain bike break takes us on hand built trails carved into the Welsh countryside.

Although you may have to click through to see it if the video below isn’t visible.

………

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

No bias here. London’s Daily Mail predicts chaos and road rage as a new British traffic code takes effect requiring drivers to yield to more vulnerable road users, and allowing bike riders to use the full lane to increase visibility under some circumstances.

On a related subject, Road.cc accuses major newspapers of misrepresenting the new rules, including mistakenly telling drivers they can be fined if they don’t use the Dutch reach.

………

Local

Metro wants you to make a commitment to ride more next month.

Today is the last day to offer your input on how Metro should spend their money. Or rather, our money.

Maybe Arnold should stick to riding his ebike, after a woman was nearly killed when his massive Yukon SUV rolled on top of her car after they collided.

Former BMX pro and current road and gravel rider Andrew Jackson offers a guide to the best rides in Los Angeles. And more importantly, where to get the best tacos.

The Arts District in DTLA now has an LGBTQ-centered bicycle cafe.

 

State

Truly appalling news from Coachella, where a pair of 13-year old boys were arrested for stealing a bicycle from another boy at gunpoint; one of the boys was also arrested for attempting to stab another boy walking home from school. The gun turned out to be a prop gun designed to fire blanks, although the victim had no way of knowing that.

 

National

Surprisingly, Popular Science wants to tell you how to turn your bike into a DIY ebike. No, the surprise is that the magazine is still a thing.

The best-selling electric vehicles aren’t cars, with bicycles outselling motor vehicles in the US by nearly 140,000 last year.

 

International

Off-Road.cc offers tips on how to make your mountain bike faster. Without, you know, buying a new one.

Cycling Weekly gives Cannondale a chance to respond after a review of the company’s SmartSense technology embedded in the new Synapse ebike drew an unusual amount of hostile comments.

A Montreal bike messenger considers the challenge of keeping warm on the job in the Canadian winter.

Riding cross-country is nothing new. Unless maybe the country is Iceland, in subfreezing weather with snow coming.

The Daily Mail profiles London bike cam vigilante Mike van Erp, who’s recorded over 2,000 distracted drivers and reported them to the police for prosecution, earning the undying enmity the driving public. We desperately need the law updated to allow prosecution of drivers based on photographic and video evidence on this side of the Atlantic.

British track cycling hero and bike advocate Chris Boardman has been appointed as the UK’s first bicycling and walking commissioner. And no, there is no comparable position here in the US, even though there should be.

A judge in the UK notes that some bicycles are more expensive than many cars, as he sentences a pair of high-end bike thieves to 40 and 66 months, respectively. Now the courts just need to accept that some people need their bikes just as much as others need their cars, if not more.

Tyler the Creator is sort of one us, writing the score for the final Louis Vuitton fashion show designed by the late Virgil Abloh in Paris, and finishing the show by walking a bicycle down the catwalk and riding across the stage.

 

Competitive Cycling

French pro Alexandre Geniez could be racing under a cloud this spring, with a possible six-month sentence for domestic violence against his ex-wife hanging over his head.

Sad to see that retired American pro Andrew Talansky has become a raving Covid denier.

 

Finally…

That feeling when fictional Peloton users keep dropping dead. When you’re already on probation and riding your bike with an outstanding arrest warrant, put a damn light on it, already.

And only Snoop D O Double G could pull off a lowrider bicycle with a microwave on the back.

………

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

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

Bicyclist killed at PCH and Big Rock in Malibu; 4th Malibu PCH bike death in nine months, and 2nd at the same intersection

January 22, 2022 / / One comment

Southern California’s killer highway has claimed the the life of yet another person on a bicycle.

The Malibu Times is reporting that a bike rider was killed on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu Thursday afternoon — the same day another victim was killed on PCH in Huntington Beach.

And at nearly the same location another bike rider was killed just a month ago.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was struck by a driver at PCH and Big Rock Drive around 2 pm.

He was dead in the street by the time emergency personnel got there.

According to the Canyon News, the driver isn’t suspected of being under the influence, which suggests this was not a hit-and-run.

Traffic signals were upgraded at the intersection in 2014 to improve safety; clearly, it didn’t work.

Unfortunately, there’s no further information at this time. No word on which way the victim and his killer where going, or how the crash occurred.

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

It’s also the fourth person killed riding a bike on PCH in Malibu in just the last none months. Just more evidence of a serious traffic safety problem in the beachfront city.

Correction: I originally misidentified the cross street as Black Rock, rather than Big Rock, for reasons that will forever escape me. Thanks to Andrew Goldstein for the heads-up. 

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

52-year old man killed riding bike on PCH in Huntington Beach; 2nd Orange County bicycling fatality in past 6 days

January 21, 2022 / / Comments Off on 52-year old man killed riding bike on PCH in Huntington Beach; 2nd Orange County bicycling fatality in past 6 days

SoCal’s killer highway has claimed yet another life.

And once again, in Huntington Beach.

According to the Daily Pilot, 52-year-old Kelly Carrington was riding on Pacific Coast Highway, just north of Seapoint Drive, when he was stuck by a 79-year old driver headed north on PCH around 11:20 last night.

He was dead before police arrived.

The driver, who has not been identified, remained at the scene. Both he and his wife suffered minor injuries, and were taken to a local hospital.

Police don’t believe he was under the influence.

Investigators say only that Carrington was in the roadway when he was killed, making it unclear whether he was riding in the traffic lane or crossing the roadway.

It’s also possible that he was riding on the shoulder, and only briefly entered the lane to avoid some obstacle.

Anyone with information is urged to call Huntington Beach traffic investigator Doug Demetre at 714/536-5670 or investigator Vishal Rattanchandani at 714/ 536-5231.

This is at least the sixth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Orange County.

His death comes just six days after a 71-year old man was killed in a Fountain Valley hit-and-run while riding his bike.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kelly Carrington and his loved ones. 

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

Best and worst of California biking, confusing Metro 710 bike mess, and you don’t have to bike inside after all

January 21, 2022 / / One comment

Today’s must read belatedly came to my attention, after a week lost in my spam folder.

Calbike took a look back at best and worst of California biking last year, from Glendora’s low-cost quick-build Complete Streets demo, to proof that traffic jams improve safety, as bike and pedestrian deaths went up even as traffic levels decreased during the pandemic.

A few other highlights —

  • A pair of San Diego area bikeway prove persistence pays off
  • The Eastside’s Roadkill Gil gets a nod for worst abuse of political power
  • The failed anti0bike recall of Nithya Raman
  • Calbike’s big win on California’s new ebike subsidy program
  • The LA Times investigation of biased bike stops by sheriff’s deputies

Take a few minutes to read the whole thing. It may the most entertaining and informative thing you’ll read all day.

Aside from what you’re reading now, anyway.

Photo by Taryn Elliott from Pexels.

………

Sometimes I don’t know what the hell to make of something.

Especially when it involves widening a freeway in a soon-to-be-failed attempt at relieving traffic congestion, as if induced demand isn’t even a thing.

Not to mention make a complete mess of things when it comes to bicycling.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports that’s the case with Metro’s recent presentation on the proposed widening of the 710 Freeway — excuse me, the multimodal transformation of the 710 corridor.

The $6 billion project was put on pause after decades of community complaints, cancellation by the EPA, pausing by Caltrans and suspension by the Metro board.

Which is one hell of a losing streak, if you ask me.

Now the project is once again rearing its ugly head, this time accompanied with references to rail and NextGen bus service.

And bike lanes. Well, sort of.

Or maybe not.

We’ll let Linton take it from here.

Metro’s video states that there is a “protected bike lane” along the L.A. River, when the river facility is actually a bike path. The presentation emphasizes that there is “a lack of designated bike routes,” though cyclists know that bike routes are typically meaningless. Metro’s “Bike Routes [sic]” map labels many bike paths as protected bikeways, and maps numerous protected bikeways in lots of places where they don’t exist: East L.A., Vernon, Carson, etc. (Hint for Metro’s intern: the only protected bikeways in the study area are in the city of Long Beach.)

I hesitated writing about this for over a week, thinking my feeble diabetes and drug addled brain just couldn’t make sense of it.

Then I finally realized it didn’t make sense to me because it just doesn’t make sense.

Like Metro somehow not knowing the difference between an imaginary protected bike lane and an actual riverfront bike path, albeit one with an eight-mile gap through DTLA.

Or that they would somehow invent a network of nonexistent protected bike lanes that would make vaporware look good.

I’d suggest Metro needs to get their shit together, but it looks like they already put their #2 staffer on it.

Pun intended.

………

Let’s all shed a tear for Peloton’s CEO, who is no longer a billionaire after the company’s stock has dropped 85% since its pandemic peak.

Meanwhile, Alissa Walker reminds us that you don’t have to settle for riding a bike indoors.

………

We may have to worry about aggressive LA drivers. But at least we don’t have to dodge angry wild turkeys just to get a ride in.

https://twitter.com/ABC7/status/1483627774459842561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1483627774459842561%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Freal923la.iheart.com%2Fcontent%2F2022-01-20-bicyclist-gets-harassed-by-wild-turkeys%2F

Frequent contributor Megan Lynch can give thanks she had a much milder encounter with some skinnier and less aggressive toms.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1484392497711247363

………

What could possibly go wrong with this?

Unless maybe you’re the bike rider waiting patiently for a little old lady to make it all the way to the other side, while an impatient driver runs up on your ass, horn blaring.

https://twitter.com/NYPD19Pct/status/1484180393498718208

………

No wonder they called it the Great War.

Sure, they may have had to fight on an unforgiving front in a brutal war, but at least they got to ride bikes.

https://twitter.com/davidguenel/status/1484242618204753930

………

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

No bias here. English police don’t bother to do anything about a driver’s dangerously close pass on a blind curve, but give a warning for the bike rider’s bad language in response.

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

A Brit man on a mountain bike more than lived up to this section’s theme by punching a delivery driver in the eye after claiming he cut him off.

………

Local

This is who we share the road with. The LAPD is looking for a trio of hit-and-run drivers who injured one pedestrian and a person riding an e-scooter, and killed another pedestrian in three separate crashes the Jefferson Park neighborhood this month.

Riders on the LA River bike path may eventually have something besides a concrete river channel to look at when the path is finally extended from Elysian Park through DTLA to Maywood; the new infrastructure bill contains $28 million to restore 11 miles of the river to some semblance of a more natural state from Glendale to Downtown Los Angeles.

Get ready to rumble in Palmdale, where Caltrans is proposing removing street parking along a section of State Route 138 to make room for bike lanes, as well as pedestrian improvements to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is sure to rile up the local citizenry and businesses.

 

State

Sad news from San Jose, where a man who had survived getting struck by a driver while riding a motorized bike last October died due to complications stemming from his injuries.

 

National

Bike Hacks offers a clickbait-friendly seven reasons why every college student should have a bicycle.

The driver who killed the wife of one of Tesla’s co-founders as she rode a bike outside of Reno is facing six years after pleading guilty to felony reckless driving.

Streetsblog considers whether Chicago speed cams are racist because they disproportionately ticket people of color, or if the real problem is racist road design in low-income neighborhoods that encourage people to speed.

The trial of a Black Illinois bike rider accused of fatally shooting a car passenger who he says called him a racial slur was nearly derailed when a witness said a defense paralegal had posed as a police officer to interrogate him at work.

Seriously? A Massachusetts letter writer complains that a new bike lane is dangerous and will get someone killed because drivers have to cross it to make a right turn, and have to watch out for people on bikes when leaving a parking space. You know, pretty much like virtually every other bike lane on the face of the earth, aside from Denmark and the Netherlands, of course.

A pair of Brown University students have created what they describe as “Waze for bikes” to help overcome the woes we usually face.

 

International

Brompton is introducing its first Ti frame, sub-17 pound foldie.

Britain’s biggest bicycle retailer is offering commuters free use of an ebike if their train is cancelled due to the ongoing disruptions caused by the Omicron variant.

Speaking of Denmark, it’s the bike-friendly country’s Year of the Bike, with the Tour de France scheduled to start in Copenhagen, and a commitment to spend $64 million on bike lanes this year — part of a whopping $458 million bicycling infrastructure plan. Then again, every year is the year of the bike for Danish residents.

Dutch bikemaker Van Moof introduces a twin engine “hyperbike” ebike — even though its 31 mph top speed makes it illegal in Europe and much of the US, including California.

Jerusalem residents are demanding bike lanes on congested Hebron Road, and getting the cold shoulder from city hall.

An Aussie urban designer explains how the country could become a world leader in bicycle friendly cities, starting with prioritizing bikes and pedestrians over cars. Which should be the starting point for all traffic laws everywhere. Especially right here in Los Angeles.

 

Competitive Cycling

A Colorado hedge fund is taking a new approach to pro cycling’s failing business model by earmarking a percentage of their management proceeds to support USA Cycling and other cycling organizations.

 

Finally…

Remember to unplug your ebike before it explodes. Now you, too can look like your heroes from L39ion of Los Angeles.

And “If you’re in a four wheel drive, you can f**k off.”

Now that’s a lyric we can all relate to.

………

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

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

Conservative Culver City recall effort fizzles, corgi-toting bike rider for LA City Controller, and Atwater Village hit-and-run

January 20, 2022 / / Comments Off on Conservative Culver City recall effort fizzles, corgi-toting bike rider for LA City Controller, and Atwater Village hit-and-run

Mike Bonin isn’t the only one who survived a failed recall attempt this week.

Streetsblog reports opponents failed in their efforts to recall bike-friendly Culver City mayor and congressional candidate Daniel Lee, as well as Councilmember Alex Fisch, over housing policy and the new Move Culver City street project.

Meanwhile, Lee is running for congress as a progressive Democrat in District 37, where incumbent Congresswoman Karen Bass is retiring to run for mayor of Los Angeles.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels.

………

At least one candidate for LA City Controller rides a bike.

And with a corgi, no less.

https://twitter.com/kennethmejiaLA/status/1483991223958343680

I’ve been talking with Mejia for a few months now, and have been more than impressed with the way he already digs into city finances looking for waste and opportunities to make our money work for everyone.

So consider this an endorsement for the upcoming June primary, though I still want to hear what our old friend David Vahedi has to say.

And no, it wasn’t the corgi that pushed me over the top. Or the bike.

But it didn’t hurt.

Then again, the simple fact that he’s not Paul Koretz didn’t hurt, either.

………

An Atwater Village Nextdoor user was the victim of a hit-and-run while riding his bike on Glendale Blvd this past Sunday.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to embed the dashcam video that captured the crash. But as you can see from these screen grabs, it looks pretty damn harrowing.

But at least he was able to end up on his feet afterwards.

I’m not posting the victim’s name to protect his privacy. But if you have any information about the crash or the heartless coward behind the wheel, let me know and I’ll pass it along.

Thanks to Steve Messer for the heads-up.

………

Preliminary markings for long-awaited bike lanes hit the street on Yosemite Drive in Eagle Rock.

………

Call it car culture in a nutshell.

A West Virginia reporter gets knocked on her ass by an SUV driver on live TV. And just bounces back up, assuring the driver and her news anchor it’s all good.

………

The latest video from GCN discuses the biggest mistakes you can make on a bike ride.

Actually, the biggest mistake is not going for one in the first place.

………

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

Ebikes have officially gotten the heave-ho from San Clemente’s popular beachfront trail, even though most ped-assist bikes probably wouldn’t bother anyone.

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

Neighbors claim to have seen the suspect in the Colleyville, Texas synagogue hostage standoff riding a bicycle in the area the day before the attack; police recovered a beat-up mountain bike they say he was riding.

………

Local

This is who we share the road with. A Gardena driver faces vehicular homicide charges for the deaths of two people when his Tesla ran a red light while in Autopilot mode, as the LA Times considers whether the driver or the carmaker should be held accountable.

 

State

Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry talks with Emeryville mayor and newly minted social media star John Bauters about his love of bicycling and support for safe, equitable streets.

 

National

WaPo recommends trying an ebike tour on your next trip overseas. Or right here at home, for that matter.

The Maui County Council is trying to rein in bike tours and solo bicyclists bombing down the Haleakalā volcano. Even though one bike advocate pointed out that it’s the people on bicycles who observe the speed limit, while speeding drivers routinely violate Hawaii’s three-foot passing law.

A Salt Lake City couple discovered the hard way that their custom three-seat bike had been stolen when they got off a train and spotted the thief walking it down the street, but couldn’t catch him; they had it made so their 36-year old son with Down’s syndrome could ride with them.

A planned Oregon to Virginia cross-country bike route would pass through Wyoming’s Teton County, home to the spectacular Teton National Park and a big chunk of Yellowstone.

New York’s new mayor announces what he calls Vision Zero on steroids, while bicycle advocates fear it could lead to a crackdown on bike riders at unsignalized intersections.

 

International

Cargo bikes could be the future of green home delivery.

The We Love Cycling website considers five bike-related jobs you may not have considered, like delivering furniture or laundry, and towing an advertising trailer in your wake.

Road.cc looks into their crystal ball and predicts the big bike trends for the coming year, including brake-by-wire and ebikes that recharge while you ride; thankfully, they also see a trend towards more affordable road bikes. Unfortunately, the also predict the pandemic-induced bike shortage will still have legs, thanks to China’s Omicron lockdowns and ongoing shipping imbalances.

A British bike rider complains about the “dreadful” conditions on the local streets, after he was lucky to avoid getting run over when he was sideswiped by a careless van driver.

New traffic rules creating a hierarchy of road users take effect in the UK next weekend, requiring drivers to be more careful around bike riders and pedestrians.

Israel is making plans to cut car use in half, while conceding that the 2040 target date isn’t likely to happen.

Over 500 bicycles donated by kindhearted people in Washington and British Columbia were delivered to help people in Rwanda, while the shipping container they travelled in was converted to a locally operated bike distribution and repair shop.

The World Bank consider’s how the Philippines built 310 miles of bike lanes in a single year to take advantage of the pandemic bike boom. Then again, they probably didn’t subject the plans to countless public meetings, while giving homeowners and drivers veto power before paint hits the streets.

 

Finally…

When you’re a movie star, you can ignore Harry and Megan’s Private Road signs. That feeling when you ride almost a mile to daycare on your own balance bike.

And German bikemaker Canyon suggests maybe LA doesn’t suck for bike riders after all.

At least not on the trails outside the city.

………

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

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

Invalid signatures sink Bonin recall, Koretz nixes expanded hours for La Brea bus lanes, and Ride4Love Super Bowl Sunday

January 19, 2022 / / 2 comments

So much for that big anti-Bonin uprising in his coastal council district.

Wealthy and conservative activists have been gunning for CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin almost since he first took office in 2013.

Especially following his bold, but poorly rolled out, attempt at installing much needed road diets in Playa del Rey in 2017, which were removed after Mayor Eric Garcetti cut the legs out from under him following an angry outcry from drivers used to using the roadways as a deadly surface-street alternative to the 405.

Numerous attempts recall him have been announced, despite the overwhelming support Bonin has enjoyed at the ballot box.

And all have fizzled.

The latest attempt got the furthest, as recall supporters actually made it to city hall this time, submitting over 39,000 signatures to the city clerk’s office, far more than needed to qualify the recall for the ballot.

Except, as it turned out, over 13,000 of those signatures were rejected as invalid. Leaving them around 1,350 short.

Now the bike-friendly and bike-riding councilmember can turn his attention to running for a third and final term in office this year, which will most likely return him to his position as chair of the city council’s Transportation Committee.

And avoid the awkward possibility that he could be removed from office amid the typically low turnout of a recall election this spring, then returned when the larger voting public turns out for the June primary election.

As the LA Times points, out, this is the third council recall attempt to fizzle out this year, after earlier failed attempts to oust Nithya Raman and Kevin de León.

Photo taken from Bonin website.

………

Once again, outgoing CD5 Councilmember Paul Koretz shows his true stripes, standing in the way of a much-needed bus lane on La Brea, if it happens to inconvenience anyone even a tiny bit.

Thankfully, Koretz will be termed out this September, when hopefully, someone who actually supports improving transit service to get Angelenos out of their cars can take his place.

So maybe just hold off on printing those Bus Lane No Parking signs for a few more months.

………

Mark your calendar for February’s biggest outdoor event.

Wait, there’s a football game, too?

………

I’m not one to talk about my religious beliefs.

But I confess to saying a prayer to the Madonna del Ghisallo every night, asking that everyone who rides a bike the next day may return home safely.

Sadly, sometimes the answer is no.

So I also pray for all those who have been injured or killed riding a bicycle, and all of their loved ones, that they may be comforted and at peace.

Because what’s the point of having our own patron saint if we don’t ask for her help?

………

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

No bias here. Yet another lengthy screed from a self-proclaimed San Luis Obispo “pedestrian, bicyclist and…commercial driver” complaining that bicycling and walking safety improvements in the city are doing just the opposite — including a new two-way protected bike lane he claims is just teaching children to ride on the wrong side of the road.

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

Riverside police are looking for a bicyclist who repeatedly whacked a 60-something man over the head with a piece of wood in an apparent road rage attack on New Year’s Eve, resulting in head injuries that kept the victim hospitalized until now. Never resort to violence, as tempting as it may be — especially with a weapon, improvised or otherwise. Regardless of what the driver may have done to piss you off.

An alleged road raging bike rider pled guilty to a pair of bail jumping charges on the eve of his trial for fatally shooting a Milwaukee immigration attorney in front of his wife; the defense accuses the driver of directing a racial slur at the Black bicyclist. Which, horrible though it may be, does not justify killing the victim with a gun the shooter was not legally allowed to possess.

………

Local

Streetsblog encourages you to weigh in on Metro’s budget for the upcoming year.

 

State

The HIV/AIDS fundraiser AIDS LifeCycle ride is back this year after a two-year pandemic hiatus, and looking for volunteers to help out.

Spectrum News 1 considers the soaring popularity of ebikes in San Diego.

A Corona man is ordered to stand trial for attempting to sexually assault a schoolgirl, then fleeing naked on his bicycle. Seriously, there’s not a pit in hell deep enough.

Oakland is pulling the plug on their Slow Streets program, rather than making them permanent like some other cities have done.

 

National

Cannondale’s new Synapse is one of the first road bikes from a major manufacturer to incorporate integrated daytime running lights and a rear-facing radar to alert the rider to any approaching motor vehicles, based on Garmin’s Varia bicycle-mounted radar.

You’ve got to be kidding. South Dakota’s Supreme Court tossed a lawsuit from a woman who was paralyzed when her bike wheel got caught in a Rapid City storm grate, after the city destroyed the evidence by removing nearly 100 similar grates — including the one that left her a quadriplegic, making it impossible to prove her case.

Santa Fe bike riders call for an end to automotive supremacy in advance of a redesign of a deadly thoroughfare that was once part of the famed Route 66.

A handful of Good Samaritans pitched in to buy a new racing bike for a Colorado triathlete who lost everything in the recent Boulder County fire, including her carbon fiber Cervelo, which was turned to ash by the flames.

Your old car tires could have a new life as armadillos marking a Memphis protected bike lane. Now if they’d just recycle the rest of the cars.

The NYPD tells moped riders to stay the hell out of the bicycle/pedestrian lane on the Queensboro Bridge. Now if they could just stop their own cops from parking in bike lanes.

Nice move. New York will provide free two-month bikeshare memberships for hospital workers at the front lines in the battle against the Covid-19 Omicron surge.

A new Penn State study shows that even Bike Friendly University’s are failing to encourage members of underserved racial, gender, low-income and disabled groups to bicycle to and on college campuses.

Bicyclist and pedestrian deaths nearly doubled last year in Florida’s Pinellas County, home to Clearwater and St. Petersburg, jumping from 49 in 2020 to 85 in 2021.

 

International

Local residents are delighted that plans to segregate an English bike lane have been scrapped, so they can keep parking in it.

The Vatican now has its very own cycling team, in honor of the bike-loving pope.

A new German study shows that the country’s increase in bicycling is largely driven by highly educated urban residents, who are riding twice as much as they did when the study began in 1996. Although the study only goes through 2018, so it doesn’t include the effects of the pandemic bike boom. Thanks to Ralph Durham for the heads-up.

A New Zealand tour boat skipper spent the pandemic building a new 35-mile mountain bike track, opening up backcountry areas that have never been open to the public before.

Life is cheap in Adelaide, Australia, where police unexpectedly dropped all charges against a 25-year old man accused of deliberately ramming three separate bike riders while driving a stolen car.

 

Competitive Cycling

Sad news from Brazil, where elite mountain biker Mariano Merlo died after a sudden illness; she was just 27 years old.

Russian cyclist and former world junior time trial champ Aigul Gareeva has been suspended after skipping not one, not two, but three doping tests over the past year, which could lead to up to a two year ban. Nope, nothing at all suspicious about blowing off three dope tests. Especially now that the Era of Doping is over, right?

Continental-level developmental team Israel Cycling Academy was victimized by bike thieves on Monday, losing 17 team bikes from a truck at the team’s Catalonia, Spain training camp.

Argentine cyclists discover the hard way that maybe they should slow down just a tad when the road is flooded out in front of the peloton.

https://twitter.com/SC_ESPN/status/1483113665188569089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1483113665188569089%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-18-january-2022-289579

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could be haute couture. Don’t stab your companion in an argument over who owns a bike — especially when you’re already on bail for a meth bust.

And it looks like LA tall bike king Richie Trimble’s 20 feet 2.5 inches Stoopid Taller is now just the world’s second tallest bike.

………

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

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

Irish driver says bike riders are always right, crowdfund campaign for 13-year old crash victim, and help set policy in CD4

January 18, 2022 / / Comments Off on Irish driver says bike riders are always right, crowdfund campaign for 13-year old crash victim, and help set policy in CD4

She gets it.

Today’s must read comes from an Irish columnist who says bike riders are always right, even though she’s a driver.

Well, maybe not always.

She describes being chased off her bike, first by catching a tire in a Dublin rail track, then by a cab driver who leaned on his horn and called her a “stupid bitch,” for the crime of being on the road ahead of him.

And hasn’t ridden it since.

But still, there’s this —

But we are sharing the road. We don’t own the road, we drivers. Paying motor tax doesn’t entitle us to everything from kerb to kerb and baying that “cyclists don’t pay” is childish. Cycling is a sustainable, relatively inexpensive, and health-promoting mode of transport. Do we really want to tax that? What next, pedestrians paying footpath tax?

She sums it up this way.

Back in my spot on the devil’s lap, I must acknowledge that just as there are bad drivers, there are bad cyclists. The weavers, the light-breakers (even though this is often the safest option), the all-in-blacks. Of course they exist, but they can’t be a reason to scapegoat an entire community of cyclists. I guarantee if you see one “bad cyclist” on your journey, a cyclist sees 10 dangerous drivers, two of which unwittingly tried to kill them.

It’s worth a few minutes of your day to give it a read.

If only to see that there really are people who don’g ride a bike, but get what it’s like for us, anyway.

………

A crowdfunding campaign has been set up to help pay funeral expenses for Edward Vazquez Jr, the 13-year old boy killed by a driver while riding his bike in Corona last week.

As of this writing, it’s raised just $1925 of the $15,000 goal.

………

Here’s your chance to help direct policy for my councilmember.

Which is why I want someone who rides bikes to get the job.

………

If your bike was stolen stolen in the Rancho Cucamonga area recently, the local PD may have good news for you. Or not.

https://twitter.com/IrvinePolice/status/1482169425402941445

Thanks to David Huntsman for the link.

………

Why would anyone in Ontario, Canada, give a damn about distracted driving when the premier of the province clearly doesn’t?

………

A new Quebec ad campaign takes aim at jaywalkers.

Literally.

https://twitter.com/delanightmares/status/1482845798673313792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1483026563578880002%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-17-january-2022-289555

Maybe instead of wasting money telling people not to jaywalk, they could improve streets with better crossings so it’s not necessary. And safer if they do, anyway.

………

Of course there’s a bicycle superhero. Because why wouldn’t there be?

Then again, this is the real superpower.

https://twitter.com/davidguenel/status/1483106840510545928

………

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

File this one under be careful what you wish for. A bill in the Vermont legislature would require everyone on a bicycle to ride single file on any roadway without bike lanes. Which would increase the danger for people on bikes by encouraging unsafe passing, while increasing the time, distance and risk involved to pass a large group of riders.

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

An off-duty cop working as a security guard engaged in a shootout inside an Oklahoma  Walmart with a man who tried to pay for a few items while walking out without paying for a new bike.

Police in Queens, NY are looking for the rider of a throttle-controlled ebike who pulled out a gun, and shot out a speed camera.

A conservation group is accusing bike riders of damaging the UK’s New Forest national park, after a six-week study showed 550 people on bicycles riding off designated trails. Seriously, show some respect for the land.

………

Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton remembers longtime transit advocate and Streetsblog contributor Dana Gabbord, whose big heart gave out just shy of his 60th birthday.

The Eastsider says county workers want to know what keeps people in East LA from walking and being more active. Hint: They usually have four wheels

WeHoVille talks crime and ebikes with West Hollywood Public Safety Commissioner Danny Roman, owner of Bikes & Hikes LA.

 

State

Sonoma votes for a road diet on a major street, while still forcing bike riders to contend with drivers parking their cars.

 

National

It’s been a big couple years for women’s bicycling, as nearly 56% of women who currently ride bikes either started during the pandemic, or came back to bicycling after a layoff.

A writer for Jalopnik tries to track down the provenance of a bike someone apparently won off the side of a Hi-C drink box.

Some Portland residents responded to calls to use MLK Jr. Day as a day of service by sweeping out bike lanes, while an Idaho group used the day to distribute 50 bikes to people in need.

Seattle may not have repealed its mandatory bike helmet law yet, but the local police have decided they won’t stop riders just for not wearing one anymore, as well as downplaying a number of other minor traffic violations since they don’t have a direct connection to the safety of others.

A Vermont website remembers the bike-riding former state house leader, whose passion for bicycling was matched only by his passion for public service; Willem Jewett was just 56 years old when he died via the medical-aid-in-dying law he helped pass, after struggling for years with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

New York’s new mayor plans to cut the city’s vehicle fleet down to the bare minimum, and encourage employees to ride the subway or take buses instead. Or better yet, just improve the city’s bike network and tell ’em to ride bicycles, instead. 

NBA star Jimmy Butler is one of us, buying a new bicycle so his two-year old daughter can ride in a child’s seat on the back.

Hundreds of Florida teens turned out for the annual, unsanctioned Wheels Up, Guns Down rideout to mark Dr. Martin Luther King’s call for nonviolent protest, including one group that took over the right side of a freeway.

 

International

Vogue Business considers the fashion industry’s recent inroads into the world of bicycling.

If you build it, they will come. Despite cries that London’s new bike network is blocking traffic, it is traffic, as bike riders now outnumber motorists in some areas of the city.

An English serial bike thief will spend the next 21 months behind bars for stealing six bikes worth more than $6,000 after gaining access to three apartment buildings.

A British man tells his harrowing tale of suffering a debilitating stroke at just 39 years old, and how he fought his way back to full mobility with determination and a bicycle.

Good Samaritans kept an alleged stoned driver from fleeing the scene after running down a UK bike rider, punching him in the face and dragging him out of the car he was trying to jack after abandoning his own heavily damaged car.

A retired Irish schoolteacher has become the oldest person to ride a bike around the world, completing the challenge at the ripe old age of…56? Seriously? That’s a ridiculously young age to be the oldest to do damn near anything, let alone anything to do with riding a bicycle.

You know a city is serious about getting people out of their cars when bikeshare is free, like it is in Prague, where a pilot program allowing transit pass holders 15 minutes of free bikeshare, up to four times a day, is going to be made permanent. Especially since rental bikes are a gateway drug for bicycling.

A delivery rider for Uber Eats faces a charge of professional negligence resulting in death after running down a 78-year old man crossing a Tokyo intersection; police blame the speed required by the company for causing the crash.

A new Kiwi study shows that the benefits of walking and bicycling outweighs the costs of building better facilities and educational campaigns by a whopping ten to one, especially in terms of better health and fewer cars on the road.

 

Competitive Cycling

Irish cyclist Sam Bennett says pro cycling has gotten so scientific and technical, it doesn’t even feel like he’s riding a bike anymore.

A new self-supported bikepacking race will take riders on over 1,000 miles of new trails through Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.

 

Finally…

How to give your bike an extreme wooden makeover. If you’re planning to pawn a stolen bike, don’t give them all your personal information.

And we’ll know it works when it becomes the latest time trial technique.

………

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

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

MLK Jr. was one of us — so let’s all try to be more like him today

January 17, 2022 / / Comments Off on MLK Jr. was one of us — so let’s all try to be more like him today

Dr. King was one of us, too.

So just for today, let’s challenge ourselves to be more like him, and remember that every person we meet today is our brother or sister.

And strive to show each and every one the kindness, courtesy and respect that is the birthright of every human being.

Because if we can do it today, we can do it tomorrow. And every day after that.

And yes, I said we, because I fail at that as much as anyone.

Stay safe and enjoy the ride today.

We’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on al the good, the bad and the ugly from the world of bikes.

Thanks to Ted Faber for forwarding this tweet.

Category: General / Tags:

Update: 71-year old Santa Ana man killed riding bike in Fountain Valley hit-and-run; driver arrested for felony DUI

January 15, 2022 / / 2 comments

A 71-year old man riding a bicycle lost his life in Fountain Valley early Saturday morning, thanks to a drunken coward who didn’t have the decency stop.

Allegedly.

According to County News TV, police responding to reports of a crash found 71-year old Santa Ana resident Liem Bui lying on southbound Euclid Ave just north of Heil Ave, next to Mile Square Regional Park, around 5:39 this morning.

The Orange County Register reports he was dead when officers arrived.

The driver fled the scene, leaving Liem to die alone in the street.

Police identified the suspect vehicle, locating it in Westminster sometime later with 32-year-old Fountain Valley resident Amanda Martin still in the driver’s seat.

She was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

It’s not clear if she was driving at the time or had stopped, or whether she was awake or passed out behind the wheel.

She was being held on $100,000 bond.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Traffic Bureau of the Fountain Valley Police Department at 714/593-4481.

This is at least the fifth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Orange County. Three of those deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Update: A Facebook post from the VeloViet Cycling Team indicates Liem Bui was a bike racer and coach in Vietnam, before coming to the US. Thanks to Christian for the heads-up. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Liem Bui and his loved ones. 

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

Teen killed riding bicycle in Corona crash, victim identified as 13-year old Corona boy

January 14, 2022 / / 12 comments

Every death is tragic.

But it always hits harder when the victim is a kid.

That was the case in Corona yesterday, where KTLA-5 reports that a 13-year old boy was killed when he was struck by a driver Thursday afternoon.

According to a press release from the Corona Police Department, the victim was riding his bike at West Citron Street and South Lincoln Avenue when he was run down by a motorist, who has not been publicly identified, around 4:32 pm.

He died after being taken to a local hospital.

The Riverside County coroner identified the boy as 13-year old Corona resident Edward Vazquez.

The driver remained at the scene, and police don’t suspect drug or alcohol use.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on how the collision occurred, or who might have had the right of way at the signalized intersection; there are no bike lanes or any other bike infrastructure in any direction.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Traffic Officer Johnathan Drylie at 951/817-5784, or at Johnathan.Drylie@Coronaca.gov.

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

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Edward Vazquez and all his family and loved ones. 

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee