Despite ebike panic, the real danger comes from drivers; and Manhattan Beach approves likely illegal bike crackdown

September 11, 2023 / / Comments Off on Despite ebike panic, the real danger comes from drivers; and Manhattan Beach approves likely illegal bike crackdown

My apologies once again for last week’s unexcused absence. 

I’m still struggling to adjust to taking insulin with meals multiple times a day, and relearning what and when to eat. 

Every time I think I have my diabetes figured out, they change my meds and I have to start all over again. 

Last week that resulted in wild, more than 200 point swings in my blood sugar levels, which is over twice the normal range. And which inevitably knocks me on my ass whether I’m too high, or too low. 

But hopefully that’s behind me now, and we can ease back into all the latest bike news. Although it could take me a few days to catch up on everything. 

………

He gets it.

The Los Angeles Times’ Ryan Fonseca writes that the recent panic over ebike safety obscures that fact that the real danger stems from cars, and the people who drive them.

Not from the ebikes themselves.

In fact, despite the recent bicycling state of emergency that ensued after 15-year old Brodee Champlain Kingman was killed in a collision while riding an ebike in Encinitas, 88% of ebike crashes since 2020 also involved someone driving a motor vehicle.

Here’s just part of what Fonseca has to say.

I noticed a car-sized hole in much of the media coverage and government response; overwhelmingly, the collisions and injuries and deaths resulted from a car driver hitting a bike rider. But you wouldn’t necessarily know that from reading news articles or government reports.

The focus on young e-bike riders’ safety can obscure the bigger crisis: People driving cars and trucks are killing more people on our roads.

………

Manhattan Beach announced a crackdown on bike riders in the beachside city, although they may have gone just a tad too far.

Okay, a lot too far.

According to the city’s website, the new restrictions include —

  • Prohibits riding on City sidewalks, plazas, grass areas, the Strand, parking structures owned or operated by the City, County, or State, and Veterans Parkway.
  • Prohibits riding at speeds over 15 miles per hour on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail (i.e. Beach Bike Path), and maintains the current “Walk Only Zone” on both sides of the pier.
  • Requires wearing of properly strapped helmets for all riders under 18 years of age;
  • Requires riders to use bike lanes where possible, and on streets without bike lanes, to ride close to the right curb or edge of roadway.
  • Requires riders to ride in single file and not more than two abreast.
  • Prohibits riding on the back of a bicycle or e-bike without a seat.
  • Prohibits speeding, racing, or stunt activity.
  • Reaffirms requirements to yield to pedestrians at all times.

The regulations call for a $500 fine for a first violation, $750 for the second, and $1,000 for each additional infraction within one year of the person’s first citation.

Although state law already covers some of these, like requiring bike riders under 18 to wear a helmet, and for bicyclists to use bike lanes on streets that have them, even though they’re allowed to leave the bike lanes for any number of reasons.

However, Manhattan Beach oversteps their authority when tinkering with traffic regulations, which are exclusively the authority of the state, not local governments.

That includes requiring bike riders to ride next to the curb, when state law only requires riding as close to the curb as practicable. They also can’t legally prevent bicyclists from taking any lane that is too narrow to safely share with a motor vehicle, or when traveling at the normal speed of traffic.

Nor can they require bicyclists to ride single file, or prohibit riding more than two abreast in a single traffic lane, which is permitted under state law.

Never mind that the requirements to ride single file and not more that two-abreast are self-contradictory. And those fines are meaningless if they exceed what the state allows for the same violation.

If it’s a violation at all under state law.

It’s also worth noting that the restrictions on sidewalk riding could go out the window if AB 825 passes in the state legislature, which would legalize sidewalk riding statewide, and is signed into law by the governor.

Which is a damn good reason to ask your state representatives to support it.

And if you get a ticket for violating any of the new restrictions on any surface street, get yourself a damn good lawyer.

………

Pasadena’s first protected bike lane is officially open for business.

https://twitter.com/RyFons/status/1700624986132844911

State Senator and congressional candidate Anthony Portanino joined Pasadena officials in opening the new 1.5-mile Union Street Protected Bike Lane, the area’s first two-way protected bike lane.

Students from all five South Pasadena schools, from elementary through high school, turned out for a bike ride to mark the grand opening of the new Union Street bikeway.

A Pasadena writer celebrates the bikeway’s opening, but expresses concerns that not enough outreach has been done to educate bike riders and drivers about the risks of a two-way bike lane, as well as regretting that the project didn’t include a bike lane on Colorado Blvd, as well.

……..

It’s now been a full two years since California approved what would, and should, have been the nation’s first ebike rebate program.

Which is too damn long to wait.

Instead, we’ve seen countless other cities and states move forward with programs of their own, without the endless delays we’ve had to endure.

But at least they’re finally accepting applications from retailers to participate in the program, so maybe there’s hope.

But don’t hold your breath.

………

Irwindale bike shop Irwindale Cycles may be forced out of business after 25 years, after three men stole 17 bicycles worth $40,000 in an early morning break-in two weeks ago.

A crowdfunding page to help the owners meet business expenses and replace the purloined bikes has raised nearly half of the modest $10,000 goal.

………

BikeLA says you, too, can become an LCI.

Twitter post

………

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

No bias here. A New York bike rider got a summons from the NYPD for riding his bike on the sidewalk when he tried to keep cops from parking on it.

You’ve got to be kidding. After a Florida bike rider was injured in a collision, the local TV station can’t even be bothered to mention that the car had a driver.

No bias here, either. A driver in the UK walked without charges, or even a ticket, despite reversing down a country road at a bike rider following a punishment pass — and running over a dog in the process — after police investigators concluded he probably just wanted to talk with the person on the bike, who was warned not to shout at any drivers in the future. All I can say is they’re damn lucky that wasn’t my dog. 

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

A Singaporean bicyclist is being investigated for an alleged road rage attack on a driver’s car, after denting the car’s hood with his fist in response to the impatient driver honking at him.

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Local 

The LA Times considers the challenges Woodland Hills drivers are having adjusting to reverse diagonal parking on Ventura Blvd, which allows for more parking spaces while eliminating the risk of dooring bicyclists. Never mind the risk we face from drivers backing up in the bike lane.

Beverly Hills to planning to install bike lanes on Beverly Blvd, which would connect to planned bike lanes in West Hollywood.

Culver City cops busted a pair of would-be bike thieves who tried to steal a bicycle from a Rite-Aid on Culver Center Drive in broad daylight.

The curvy, 2.4-mile stretch of steep canyon road through the Santa Monica Mountains known as The Snake could reopen in January, after closing to motor vehicles for the past four years due to damage from the Woolsey fire and subsequent mudslides.

 

State

Calbike wants you to take the State Highway Complete Streets Survey.

A jury has been seated in the murder trial of Sergio Reynaldo Gutierrez for intentionally running down and killing 46-year old Riverside resident Benedicto Solanga with his pickup, as Solanga walked his bike with another person; Gutierrez allegedly flipped Solanga the bird as he drove by, then made a U-turn to come back and ram into him.

Someone riding a bicycle in Indio was hospitalized after they were struck by a driver Sunday afternoon.

A new study suggests that fears that a proposed road diet and wide, protected bike lanes on San Francisco’s Grand Avenue could delay buses are unfounded.

Critical Mass returned to Lake Tahoe after a decade, in response to a Caltrans proposal to increase speed limits.

 

National

NPR explains why journalists often use a passive voice to describe crashes, after a listener complains about a headline saying 17-year old fallen cyclist Magnus White was hit by a car, not a driver.

Las Vegas bicyclists installed a ghost bike to honor former Bell, California police chief Andreas Probst, who was allegedly murdered when he was intentionally run down from behind by a 17-year old driver in a stolen car.

A writer for an Apple website used his iPhone to document a 4-day, 253-mile tour of central Minnesota.

A Buffalo NY writer gets her first new bike at age 70, after a lifetime of bicycling.

Now that’s an open streets event. Thousands of DC-area bike riders turned out to enjoy a whopping 20 miles of carfree streets.

 

International

Momentum highlights North America’s best bike trails, including NorCal’s 25.4-mile Buzz Johnson Trail.

Canadian national park officers shot and killed an aggressive coyote in Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton that had chased people on bicycles, after a second coyote bit a woman when she got off her bike last week.

The National Review offers a photo essay of the decennial Knutsford Great Race on Penny Farthings.

Police in the UK pulled an accused terrorist off a bicycle as he rode along a London canal path, four days after he escaped prison by strapping himself to the bottom of a food delivery truck.

An Indian driver faces murder charges after security cam video shows him intentionally running down a 15-year old bike-riding relative, just because the boy had told him not to urinate near a local temple.

A South Korean bike path may smell of exhaust from the cars speeding by on either side, but its solar panel covering provides power for around 500 homes, as well as shade for the riders using it.

 

Competitive Cycling

Colorado’s Sepp Kuss is just six days from rolling into Madrid wearing the Vuelta’s red leader’s jersey, after making the surprising leap from top domestique for Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard to leading them by more than a minute and a half.

Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel continued to attack on Sunday, seeking a second consecutive stage win after falling out of the overall battle after his disastrous stage 13 ride up the Col du Tourmalet on Friday.

Belgian Wout van Aert won his second Tour of Britain, despite being forced to fight for the win on the final stage.

L39ion of Los Angeles cyclists Kendall Ryan and Ty Magner won the women’s and men’s elite races in the penultimate race of the American Criterium Cup series, but it was American Cycling’s Danny Summerhill who clinched the men’s Crit Cup title.

Instagram users came through for former US crit champ Rahsaan Bahati and his Bahati Foundation by locating his team’s abandoned trailer in Long Beach after it was stolen and ransacked, with $15,000 worth of equipment taken.

Sixteen-year old US national age group time trial champ Gray Barnett got his $12,000 racing bike back after the airline lost it, thanks to an Apple AirTag, which tracked it across the Atlantic.

 

Finally…

When you’re on the run from the cops, try not to run past a boy willing to loan them his bike. Trying out the cheapest ebike on Amazon to answer the burning question, “how bad can it be?”

And The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards begrudgingly signs autographs for bicyclists riding next to his limo. Thanks to Westside Wheelmen for the heads-up. 

Twitter post

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links / Tags: ,

Three-year old Odalys Navarro killed by hit-and-run dirt bike rider in Mead Valley; 17 year old boy arrested

September 9, 2023 / / One comment

Some things are just too sad to process.

Like the needless death of a toddler as she rides a bike next to her mother.

And the arrest of a teenaged boy for the hit-and-run that took her life.

The Los Angeles Times reports that three-year old Odalys Navarro died Monday, four days after she was run down from behind by someone on a dirt bike as she rode her bicycle in the rural Riverside County community of Mead Valley.

Her mother, who is five months pregnant, was also seriously injured in the August 31st crash.

The CHP places that crash near the intersection of Steele Peak Drive and Palm Street shortly after 7:30 pm, as they were coming home from the park on the dirt sidewalk.

The motorcycle rider fled the scene.

This is how Rubi Navarro, the victim’s mother, described the crash on a crowdfunding page.

It was a Thursday afternoon 8/31 that was supposed to be filled with joy and laughter, tragedy struck. A hit-and-run incident involving a motorcycle left my child and myself lying on the ground, fighting for our lives. It is difficult to put into words the pain and anguish my family has endured since that fateful day.

My little girl, who was only 3 years old going on to 4 in about a month and I were walking home from the park when the motorcycle came out of nowhere. The impact was severe, leaving both of us with life-threatening injuries. The reckless driver, without a shred of humanity, callously fled the scene, leaving my family shattered and broken.

CHP investigators later found the suspect and his dirt bike, and booked the 17-year old boy on charges of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run causing fatal injuries.

His name was withheld because he’s a juvenile. Which means that, unless he’s charged as an adult, he can only be held until he turns 21, even if he’s convicted.

The crowdfunding campaign to pay Odalys Navarro’s funeral costs, and her and her mother’s medical expenses, has raised a little more than $5,000 of the $25,000 goal.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the CHP’s Riverside investigators at 951/637-8000.

This is at least the 34th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and sixth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

There’s nothing sadder than a ghost bike for a child.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Odalys Navarro and all her family.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

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

Move along, nothing to see here — diabetes edition

September 7, 2023 / / Comments Off on Move along, nothing to see here — diabetes edition

My apologies.

I’ve been dealing with major blood sugar swings this week. Wednesday’s post was canceled due to a major blood sugar crash, while today’s was due to a blood sugar spike.

Both knocked me out for several hours, making it impossible to get anything done.

So I’m going to take the rest of the week off, and try to get things back under control.

I’ll see you back her next week.

Just one — or two — reminders that diabetes sucks.

Category: General / Tags:

Why Vision Zero is failing in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and why you can’t get there from here in Playa Vista

September 5, 2023 / / Comments Off on Why Vision Zero is failing in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and why you can’t get there from here in Playa Vista

Vision Zero is now nine years old in California, yet people keep dying on our streets.

The Los Angeles Times looks at why, examining the failure of Vision Zero in San Francisco and Los Angeles, the latter just two years away from the deadline by which it’s supposed to end traffic fatalities once and for all.

Not that anyone in city leadership seems to notice.

Or care.

But San Francisco, like Los Angeles, has spent the better part of a decade making such changes as part of an ambitious pledge to reduce traffic-related deaths to zero. Neither city is close to achieving that goal…

“It’s been an abject failure,” said John Yi, the executive director of Los Angeles Walks, a nonprofit that works with immigrants and communities of color to build safer pedestrian infrastructure in their neighborhoods.

Last year, 312 people were killed in car crashes and 1,517 were seriously injured, according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. Bicyclists and pedestrians represented 57% of deaths and 41% of severe injuries, though most people in Los Angeles travel by car.

The paper correctly points the finger at deadly speeds, noting efforts at the state level to lower speed limits and legalize speed cams.

But lowering speed limits will only do so much good in a state where they are universally ignored, and drivers routinely travel 10 to 15 miles above whatever limit in nominally posted.

And get angry if they’re stopped for doing so, apparently believing it’s their God-given right as Californians to travel above the speed limit.

Graphic by tomexploresla

Meanwhile, so much has been given away to appease the windshield-addled crowd that California’s proposed bill to legalize speed cams will be limited to a limited effect, in a limited number of cities.

Including a built-in 10 mph cushion above the limit, as state lawmakers seem willing to sacrifice human lives rather than force drivers to take their damn feet off the gas.

The simple fact is, our traffic engineers and planners know what it will take to end traffic deaths, but city and state officials are simply unwilling to do it.

Let alone fund it.

They lack the political will to make the wholesale changes necessary to channel and slow motor vehicles, and the heavy-footed, mistake prone people in them.

Let alone reimagine our transportation system for the 21st Century, abandoning the failed model that’s driven deaths, congestion and climate change for the past century, and moving towards a cleaner, healthier and more efficient model focused on transit and active transportation.

Which is not to say private motor vehicles must go away. But they must be deprioritized, no longer the first choice to transport individuals and goods, but the last.

So instead, we’ve found ourselves nibbling at the edges, adding crosswalks and beacons that work until they don’t. And counting on drivers to pay attention and obey the law, rather than reimagining roadways to force them to.

In the end, the problem causing Vision Zero to fail isn’t speed.

It’s money. And political leadership, or the lack thereof.

Neither of which our elected officials have been willing to invest.

………

Evidently, you can’t get there from here.

Joni Yung comes up with a complicated workaround to get to and through Playa Vista.

Instagram post

………

Call it a ciclovía with spectacular views.

A portion of Coast Road, aka Old Coast Road, through Big Sur in Monterey County is being closed to cars for repairs through the end of this year, but will remain open to bikes, hikers and equestrians.

The soils in the area of the slip out are not stable and adding to the danger, there is a redwood tree along the cutslope (hill) that is encroaching in the travel lane. From the edge of the tree to the edge of the erosion, there is approx. 8-ft, 10-inches of road width remaining. The downhill side is an approximately 12-ft drop into a creek. This is very narrow for any vehicle, car or truck. This reduced width could potentially be a concern for a motorist unfamiliar with the area.

However, despite the name, this isn’t Highway 1 along the coast, but a smaller inland roadway.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

………

This is who we share the road with.

Twenty-three people were injured, some seriously, when an SUV driver plowed into a Denny’s restaurant in Rosenberg, Texas, southwest of Houston; fortunately, none of the injuries were expected to be life-threatening.

Police blamed a combination of speed and a wet roadway. Yet amazingly, the driver was not arrested or even ticketed at the scene.

………

Apparently, you can add bicyclist to director, producer, writer, actor, blogger and political commentator, because Bob Cesca is one us.

https://twitter.com/bobcesca_go/status/1697747529419333917

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the tip.

………

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

No bias here. After a bike rider was seriously inured when he was left-crossed by a driver who violated his right-of-way, a Kansas City TV station was quick to blame the victim for hitting the back of the driver’s car. Even though they’d be unlikely to blame a driver who hit another car in the same situation.

Um, okay. A road raging West Virginia driver threatened to kill a bike rider with a pickax and poison the victim’s food if he ever ordered from the pizza place where the man works, apparently just for riding his bike on the street. Or maybe merely existing on the planet.

A London bus driver has been metaphorically rapped across the knuckles by his employer for tailgating a bike rider, then getting out of his bus and swearing at the victim, before attempting to call the police because the guy on the bike “got on his nerves.”

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

Pioneering Chicago drill rapper Lil Reese bought a local hip hop DJ a new bicycle to make up for stealing the man’s bike when they were both kids.

A Michigan man faces charges for threatening cops with a large metal rod after he was stopped for riding his bike on a freeway; police found two concealed butcher knives and a vial of pepper spray after managing to de-escalate the situation.

A group of bicyclists in the UK were stopped by police for riding 40 mph in a 30 mph zone, but allowed to leave with “appropriate words of advice,” since there’s no speed limit for bicyclists.

………

Local 

Hermosa Beach will now require students to complete an ebike safety course before they can ride theirs to school.

 

State

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run driver who left a bike-riding 14-year old Corona boy lying seriously injured in the street.

Bakersfield motorists are slowly adjusting to green bike lanes on the streets famously trod by the late, great Buck Owens.

A pair of Bakersfield contractors were credited as heroes after they chased down a thief who stole a bike from the house they were working on, and returned it to its owner.

 

National

Federal funding for bicycle safety projects is at risk in the upcoming budget battle, after House Republicans zeroed out funding for RAISE grants, while a Senate budget bill continues them.

A writer for Electrek lists his favorite biking gear so far this year, whether for electric or conventional bikes.

Scottsdale, Arizona is fighting the battle over semantics, attempting to reach the Bike League’s Platinum Level without using the term “road diet.”

A Utah woman was arrested for drunk driving after killing a teenage boy riding a bicycle, telling police she consciously choosie to hit the soft, fragile person ahead of her rather than the hard car coming in the opposite direction.

An Albuquerque, New Mexico man was found guilty of murder for shooting a man he accused of riding his stolen bicycle. One more reminder that no bike is worth a human life. 

Life is cheap in Kansas, where a driver was sentenced to just 41 months for killing a woman walking a bicycle, after prosecutors pled down from 2nd degree murder to involuntary manslaughter.

A repeat DUI driver in Iowa was resentenced to a mere 40 years behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run that killed a bike rider, after an appellate court ruled his original 55-year sentence was out of line.

Thousand of bicyclists took to Chicago’s famed DuSable Lake Shore Drive on Sunday to participate in the carfree Bike the Drive, although the the registration-only fundraising ride was the opposite of an open streets event.

After someone posted a video to X, nee Twitter, of bike riders flowing through a plaza supposedly in the Netherlands, while complaining about being unable to build something like that in the US, commenters were quick to point out that the video was several years old, and showed a public plaza in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Few New York delivery riders are taking advantage of a program to trade-in older, fire-prone ebikes for safer new ones, citing complicated logistics and the cost of a trade. Meanwhile, fire investigators are on the lookout for fake UL stickers affixed to older, unapproved batteries.

Life is cheap in Louisville, Kentucky, where a woman failed to stop after killing a 61-year old man riding a bicycle, but apparently that wasn’t enough to merit a traffic ticket, let alone an arrest.

A Louisiana Catholic priest will have his commitment to forgiveness sorely tested after a thief was caught on video stealing his bicycle in broad daylight.

 

International

Momentum says research confirms that physical activity can improve brain power in children and youth, so if you want your kids to do well in school, get them to bike there.

An English driver was charged with the equivalent of reckless driving and DUI for the head-on crash that seriously injured a bike rider, after he apparently got tired of waiting at a red light, and went around another car onto the wrong side of the road. The crash was caught on video, but be warned it’s hard to watch.

A “rampaging” British driver is being held on a psych evaluation on suspicion of murder for deliberately running down and killing a pedestrian and a bike-riding man, before crashing into a building and attempting to run away.

A 44-year old woman reached the end of a 3,000-mile bike ride around the circumference of mainland Britain on a bamboo bicycle to raise awareness of the climate crisis.

The pope now has his own personalized bike jersey to go with the bikes he no longer owns or rides.

A vigilante bike patrol in a Finish city has now reclaimed nearly 1,300 stolen bicycles after “cracking the code” to figure out where bikes end up after they’re stolen.

The Philippines is considering amending the law to allow the state to charge road raging drivers on the victim’s behalf, after a bike rider failed to come forward in a road rage case caught on video.

 

Competitive Cycling

Colorado’s Sepp Kuss took the leaders jersey in the Vuelta on Friday and retained it through the weekend, becoming the first American to lead a Grand Tour in a decade. However, Remco Evenepoel called him an outsider, downplaying Kuss’ chances and saying he “kicked a hornet’s nest full of majestic eagles!” Um, okay. 

A reminder to keep your friends close and your pets closer, as a small dog causes chaos when he ran out into the Tour of Britain peloton, causing at least one rider to go over his handlebars.

A Kiwi triathlete was caught on video being taken out by her own teammate as they rode side-by-side in the bicycling portion of a French triathlon; fortunately, she wasn’t seriously injured in the “brutal” “horror” crash.

Twenty-two-year old Danish cyclist Mattias Skjelmose won the second annual Maryland Cycling Classic on Sunday afternoon in a more than two minute breakaway.

 

Finally…

How to get your kids to school by bike. Walking your bike through the mud of Burning Man.

And anyone can let their dog hang out of the the car window, why not let your pet bull hang out of the sunroof?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Bicyclist killed by San Diego Coaster train Sunday afternoon; no details available

September 4, 2023 / / Comments Off on Bicyclist killed by San Diego Coaster train Sunday afternoon; no details available

Someone riding a bike was killed by a train in San Diego over the holiday weekend, but very little information is available yet.

Which what usually what happens on holiday weekends.

San Diego’s CBS8 reports a bike rider died when they were struck by a northbound Coaster train on Washington Street around 3:25 Sunday afternoon.

The tracks were closed between the Old Town Station and Santa Fe Depot.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know right now.

There’s no word on the identity of the victim or how the crash occurred. However, a street view shows a full crossing gate, which suggests the victim may have ridden around it — if it was working.

This is at least the 33rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and just the fourth that I’m aware of in San Diego County, which compares to nine this time last year.

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

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Trial starts for alleged Riverside road rage murder, ghost tire memorial in South LA, and new Metro Active Transportation Plan

September 1, 2023 / / Comments Off on Trial starts for alleged Riverside road rage murder, ghost tire memorial in South LA, and new Metro Active Transportation Plan

Welcome to your last pre-Thanksgiving three-day weekend — not to mention the opening weekend for college football. 

Which means you can count on a higher than usual percentage of drunks and otherwise intoxicated people on the roads. 

So the usual protocol applies. 

Ride defensively. And if you’re riding anytime after noon today, assume every driver you see has had a few. 

Chances are, you won’t be far off. 

I expect to see you back here bright and early Tuesday morning. And I don’t want to have to write about you, unless maybe you pull a pack of puppies out of a burning building or something. 

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.

………

A 33-year old Riverside man is going on trial for murder with a deadly weapon enhancement, for the alleged road rage killing of a man riding a bicycle.

Sergio Reynaldo Gutierrez reportedly made a U-turn to reverse direction and run down 46-year old Benedicto Solanga from behind following an apparent traffic-related dispute between the two men.

Gutierrez was arrested three weeks after the July, 2021 vehicular assault, and continues to be held on $1 million bond.

………

This is who we share the road with.

LA’s second ghost tire memorial was installed yesterday to honor the three Uber passengers killed in a high speed crash in South Los Angeles.

The victims, including two sisters, were riding in the back seat of the Uber when 31-year old Gregory Black slammed into them while racing through red lights at up to 100 mph.

Black, described as a known gang member with an extensive rap sheet, was charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter, and held on $4 million bond.

So much for the myth that bail is based strictly on the suspect’s ability to pay. And not a reflection of how seriously prosecutors take the crime.

Black was already serving a five-year probation following his release from prison for attempted murder.

Meanwhile, a 17-year old Las Vegas boy faces a murder charge for intentionally killing a bike-riding man, after video posted online indicated the fatal hit-and-run two weeks ago wasn’t an accident.

The teen was allegedly driving a stolen car and already fleeing an earlier hit-and-run.

………

Metro unveiled the LA County transit agency’s new Active Transportation Strategic Plan on Tuesday.

According to Southern California Newsgroup’s Steve Scauzillo, the plan will “create a chain of paths, regional bikeways and pedestrian crossings to connect passengers who are walking, rolling or bicycling to and from the transit agency’s train lines, bus stops and depots.”

Metro, during a virtual public meeting Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 29, outlined three areas for improvement, identifying 602 “first and last mile” areas located near transit, 81 pedestrian districts and 1,433 miles of regional bikeways.

Just completing the list of regional bikeways, which would connect to existing ones, would cost about $36 billion, which is four times the entire LA Metro annual budget.

The plan has a focus on equity, improving service and safety first in areas where fewer people own cars, including including mostly Black and Latino neighborhoods.

But as we’ve seen with the City of Los Angeles, it’s one thing to make a plan, and another to implement it, as ActiveSGV’s special programs director Wesley Reutimann pointed out.

He said Metro should redirect budget dollars from highways toward completing bikeways and walkways. But getting the OK from cities and landowners can gum up the works. Metro is also asking cities to help fund the projects or apply for grant dollars. This can delay or nix projects altogether, he said.

“Long story short: Metro did a plan (in 2016) and most of it was never implemented. It just feels like this plan update is window dressing,” Reutimann said.

Even a fraction of what the agency wastes on highway engorgements could go a long way towards actually implementing this plan.

Let’s hope someone over there figures out how to do that.

………

This will be great if it actually happens.

And that’s a big if.

A pair of Los Angeles City Council motions call for streamlining operations between LADOT, LA Street Services, the Bureau of Engineering, and the Bureau of Street Lighting, as well as developing a five-year infrastructure spending plan for the city.

Correction, they both call for a pair of studies on how to do it.

Which is what the Los Angeles city government does best — study problems, rather than actually solve them.

And as we saw with the city council alternative to the Healthy Streets LA initiative, those 60 day deadlines can easily slip to a full year, if ever.

So this will be great if it actually happens. But we’ve been here too many times before.

Let’s hope someone holds the city’s feet to the fire and makes it happen this time.

Twitter post

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A Denver TV station provides more information on the crash that severely injured professional ultra endurance bicyclist Jay Petervary as he was attempting to set a new record for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

Investigators concluded Petervary was riding on a mountain highway in central Colorado when he was rear-ended by a 16-year old driver, who may have been speeding, while attempting to pass on a “straight on a wide, open road with no trees or obstructions.”

Petervary says he landed about 20 yards from his bike, skidding face first on the roadway.

He is now focusing on his recovery while his wife organizes his transport back home to Idaho, his future care and the legal repercussions. Donations are still being accepted for the Be Good Foundation. As of Thursday morning, he had raised about $9,500 of the $20,000 goal.

Petervary has a lengthy history with long-distance racing. The sponsored athlete has competed for 25 years, exploring new routes and races. But he also loves providing experiences and opportunities for others, he wrote on his website. He has adopted the mantra “Ride Forward” in not only his athletic endeavors, but in his business, relationships, friendships and more.

“It also meant to not have regrets or get bogged down in the past but also reflect and learn to move forward more fluidly,” he wrote online.

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While we’re catching up on crashes, an Arizona TV station talks with the Flagstaff bicyclist who was sideswiped by the driver of a passing RV, taking out around a dozen riders on a group ride like so many bowling pins.

Saturday, Wallace was biking on Lake Mary Road with a local cycling group, “Team Pay and Take” when he was hit in the head by an RV’s side mirror. His helmet came off, and he then crashed into multiple cyclists behind him, causing a pileup. “I mean, these people are like family,” Wallace said. “You know you ride with them every week. My partner was on the ride as well and she crashed right behind me. So your first thought is just like is everyone OK?”

Wallace said the person driving the RV stopped and cooperated with police, but this is an important reminder to share the road as it’s state law to give cyclists at least 3 feet of space. “I think it’s just a sad point that when we get behind the wheel of a car, we don’t see our fellow humans out there as someone who has someone to go home to after the ride,” Wallace said.

No word yet on whether the driver will faces charges; at last report, he was only ticketed for an unsafe pass.

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Good question.

Twitter post

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There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a handcycle from a disabled paracyclist.

https://twitter.com/SiebeforORD1/status/1697281499496886388

Some schmuck did the same thing in St. Louis, too.

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Canada’s prime minister is one of us. And so are his kids.

Twitter post

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No surprise here, as a new Belgian study shows you’re twice as likely to be killed in a collision with a bigass pickup or SUV than with a typical passenger car.

Twitter post

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What’s the point of bike skills, if you can’t use them to clear a little litter off the road?

Twitter post

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Why settle for a hoverboard when you can turn it into a LEGO-like DIY Franken-ebike?

With sideways wheels, no less.

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

No bias here. The editor of WeHoVille continues his campaign against bike lanes in the city, citing the removal of the MOVE Culver City project as a warning for West Hollywood, while mischaracterizing the highly successful project that was removed by Culver City’s newly conservative council.

No bias here, either. Residents of León, Guanajuato, Mexico protested plans for a new bike lane, arguing that “about 8 cyclists pass the whole morning,” while official stats say over 65 times that many people ride it every day. Never mind that many more would probably ride there if they felt safer. 

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Local 

Far from abandoning bike lanes, Culver City is proposing mostly 2.5-mile protected bike lanes for lower Overland Ave below Venice Blvd.

Pasadena will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony a week from tomorrow for a new 1.5-mile-long, two-way protected bike lane on Union Street between Arroyo Parkway and Hill Ave; the project, which includes a 1/3-mile bicycle boulevard, is the first of its kind in the city.

Claremont residents debate whether to protect kids on their way to and from school with safety improvements including a curb-protected bike lane, but what’s the life of a little kid when it might inconvenience older bike riders or someone ordering pizza? Thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.

Shaq is one of us, riding a custom-made 36″ mountain bike nicknamed The Thompson Beast.

 

State

The CHP has introduced a free, learn-at-your-own-pace online ebike safety class, as required by a new bill signed into law by Governor Newsom last year; the bill was authored by Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, who is behind the current effort to require licenses to ride ebikes — and who snatched the state’s latest effort to pass a Stop As Yield law from the jaws of victory.

San Francisco Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick calls on the city’s transportation agency to tow drivers who park in bike lanes, after talking the staff at a bagel shop into refusing to serve a driver who parked in a protected bike lane in front of the shop. Note to traffic engineers and planners — if someone can park in it, it’s not protected.

Oakland residents are calling for more protected bike lanes, after the tragic death of a four-year old girl who was doored while riding on the back of her father’s bike. And yes, she was wearing a helmet and strapped into her seat.

 

National

A new study provides some of the data we’ve been missing on pediatric ebike usage, showing that while riders of regular bikes under the age of 18 were more likely to suffer injuries, ebike riders were 2.4 times more likely to suffer severe injuries requiring hospitalization.

A writer for Electrek takes the contrarian view to the current ebike panic, arguing that we need more teenagers on ebikes, not fewer.

Retired Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon accurately called Lance Armstrong a cheater when the ex-Tour de France winner argued trans athletes should compete in their own division, when both were competing on the Fox show Stars on Mars.

Outside says you should spend at least $250 on bike bibs, arguing that high-end bibs will literally save your ass. I’ll reserve comment, since I’ve never spent more than a fraction of that, and my ass is still firmly attached.

Washington state is set to begin a $1,200 ebike rebate program next year, as well as establishing a series of ebike lending libraries across the state.

Boulder, Colorado threatens to beat California to the ebike rebate punch with the city’s second round of ebike vouchers, before California gets around to issuing its first.

An 83-year old Iowa man was killed by a 77-year old driver, which once again raises the question of how old is too old to drive. Anyone who can still ride at that age deserves better. Then again, so do the rest of us.

A 30-year old Milwaukee man has been arrested for the hit-and-run, street racing crash that killed an 11-year old boy, even though police were quick to blame the victim for veering into traffic and not wearing a helmet.

A Vermont armed robbery suspect made his getaway from the cops by car, on foot, on a stolen bicycle and a purloined sailboat; at last report, he was still on the lam.

Streetsblog explains a new, “very controversial bill from a noted opponent” of increased bicycling that would require ebike registration in New York City.

Madonna is still one of us, riding around New York with friends and her personal trainer, just weeks after surviving a life-threatening infection.

That’s more like it. A Louisiana semi-truck driver is facing a negligent homicide charge for killing a man riding a bicycle by sideswiping the victim while attempting to pass his bike on a curve; the charge is an upgrade from an initial ticket for violating the state’s three-foot passing law.

New Orleans workers organize the first e-bikeshare employees union. Which is actually the second, because Metro Bike employees beat them to it, unless you want to split hairs since LA’s system includes both ebikes and regular bikes

A Florida transit bus driver has been busted for hit-and-run after allegedly crashing into a bike rider, then just continuing on his route rather than stopping; fortunately, the victim did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

 

International

Cannondale is the latest bikemaker to jump on the e-cargo bike bandwagon, with the bikes premiering in Europe this fall for the equivalent of $4,300.

Momentum offers ten reasons why cargo bikes top mini vans as the perfect family vehicle.

An English town swears their new ban on bikes in the city center won’t target disabled or “old and slow” bicyclists, after police ticked an 82-year old man for violating the ban.

A Welsh cop who was tailing two ebike-riding teenagers just before the crash that killed both of them now faces a criminal probe for dangerous driving; the deaths sparked riots when the cops denied following the boys.

Dockless scooters have been scoured from the streets of Paris, on the eve of a ban overwhelmingly approved by voters.

Dutch ebike-maker VanMoof will live on, after the company was purchased out of bankruptcy by Britain’s Lavoie, which makes high-end scooters based on McLaren’s Formula 1 tech; current VanMoof owners appeared to welcome the purchase.

Germany’s Buycycle is bringing its online marketplace for used and refurbished bicycles to the US. Let’s hope they have some mechanism in place to weed out stolen bikes. 

An Italian city counselor warns bicyclists not to ride in Milan because it’s too dangerous; the city is attempting to improve safety by requiring sensors on heavy vehicles to detect bike riders and pedestrians.

An Indian woman is calling for a fresh approach to urban planning, saying the country needs a greater emphasis on bicycling to boost the enrollment of girls in both urban and rural schools, increase productivity for individuals, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Philippine bicyclists and motorcyclists reject a proposal for a shared lane along a busy roadway. Seriously, just because they’re both called bikes and have two wheels doesn’t make them compatible.

 

Competitive Cycling

American super-domestique Sepp Kuss soloed to victory in the sixth stage of the Vuelta, high-fiving fans the final 50 yards; meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel lost time to key rivals Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard, as he handed the leader’s jersey to France’s Lenny Martinez.

The annual Tour of Britain kicks on in Manchester tomorrow; Cycling Weekly offers a complete guide to the race.

 

Finally…

When life gives you a No Cycling sign, just turn it into a heart. That feeling when it takes longer to certify a record for riding around the world than it did to set it.

And why pedal through Burning Man when your butt can do the work?

@spotlightrose

Wierd people doing weird shit! #burningman

♬ original sound – Annie Bond

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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