Despite my best efforts to get back to work, I’m still struggling with my health this week.
So I’m throwing in the towel, and taking the next few days to rest and try to feel better.
I’ll see you bright and early on July 5th.
Woman riding on bike trail killed by alleged DUI driver in Rancho Cucamonga collision
Yet another bike rider has needlessly lost their life to an alleged drunk driver.
The Daily Bulletin is reporting that someone on a bicycle was struck by a driver while riding on the Pacific Electric Trail in Rancho Cucamonga Saturday evening.
According to the paper, 19-year old San Bernardino resident Jessica Carrillo allegedly ran a red light on Archibald Ave while the victim was crossing on the trail around 6:50 pm.
The Rancho Cucamonga Police Department reports the victim was riding west on the Pacific Electric Trail when she was run down as Carillo drove south on Archibald.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Facebook post identifies her as Debbie Morgan-Alam, a longtime member of the Ride Yourself Fit group.
Carillo remained at the scene, and was booked on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter, DUI causing injury and DUI causing injury with a blood alcohol content over .08 percent.
And proving once again that people on bicycles are at risk anywhere cars are present, even when riding on a fully separated pathway.
Anyone with information is urged to call San Bernardino Sheriff’s Deputies E. Rebollar or V. Peterson at 909/477-2800.
This is at least the 47th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Debbie Morgan-Alam and her loved ones.
Thanks to Victor Bale and Michael Wagner for the heads-up.
Move along, nothing to see here
My apologies. I’m significantly under the weather tonight. I’ll try to be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we’ve missed.
Category: General /
South Dakota AG impeached over fatal hit-and-run, win a Metro Bike membership, and cam-enforced blocked bike lanes
The South Dakota state senate convicted Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg on impeachment charges, removing him from office.
And demonstrating to their counterparts in Washington DC that is it is, in fact, possible, despite all appearances to the contrary.
The Army reserve officer had received a slap on the wrist for the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian two years ago, after pleading no contest to making an illegal lane change and using a phone while driving, claiming he thought he had hit a deer.
Never mind that he never stopped to find out.
The senate’s action made it clear they found his story questionable, at best. As did virtually everyone else who heard it.
Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving jerk.
Photo from Ekaterina Bolovtsova on Pexels. Thanks to Nina Moskol for the heads-up.
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Metro is offering a chance to win a free one-year bikeshare membership just for completing their Metro Bike user survey.
There are a few weeks left to take our Annual Metro Bike Share User Survey. This survey is open to everyone and should take less than 15 minutes to complete. All feedback is welcome, even if you haven’t used Metro Bike Share before.
Everyone who completes the survey will be entered in a raffle for a chance to win a 365-Day Metro Bike Share Pass ($150 value) and some sweet Metro Bike Share gear.
Take the survey today! This survey will be accepting responses until June 30, 2022.
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About damn time.
London will start using camera enforcement to ticket drivers who block bike lanes. Now the rest of the world just has to catch up.
Not surprisingly, at least one London tabloid considers it an attack on those poor, beleaguered drivers.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No shit. A Toronto lawyer and bike advocate says cracking down on bike riders for speeding in a park is a waste of resources.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Demonstrating a keen grasp of the obvious, a Portland serial bank robber who made his getaway by bicycle admits what he did was wrong. Gee, you think?
An Oxford, England man was sprayed with what appears to be pepper spray by a bike-riding teenaged boy after an argument on a shared-use path.
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Local
Bicycling talks with Finish the Ride and Streets Are For Everyone founder Damian Kevitt about how a near-fatal hit-and-run motivated him to make Los Angeles a better place for people on bicycles. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
UCLA Bicycle Academy Secretary Dr. Michael Cahn takes the university to task for removing a bike lane during construction of the new Rosenfeld Hall, and replacing it with a dumpster. Which is an apt metaphor if I’ve ever seen one.
The former Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills continues its ongoing efforts to become more bike friendly, approving plans for bike lanes and sharrows on Doheny Blvd, from Burton Way to Whitworth Dr. Although someone should tell them that sharrows are literally worse than nothing.
Santa Monica-based micromobility startup Veo is expanding the footprint of their sit-down, moped-style scooters into LA’s Westside.
State
Fullerton officials voted to rip out the Walk on Wilshire bike lane, concluding that it was little used, and the removal would improve traffic flow. Although if a bike lane isn’t used, it’s usually a sign it should be improved, not removed.
Oakland approved plans for a long-delayed Complete Streets remake of 14th Street, too late to save the life of a bike-riding father who was killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver in front of his kids.
National
Forbes offers their picks for the best bike helmets for every kind of rider, while Engadget recommends what they consider the best bike accessories you can buy.
An architecture website considers how to store your bike in small spaces.
Colorado sheriff’s deputies finally busted the driver who witnesses allege intentionally ran down a pair of women riding bicycles, leaving one woman in a coma.
CNN offers a timeline of the events leading up to and following the shooting of gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson, after the car belonging to her alleged killer was found at a Texas car dealership.
They get it. A Milwaukee public radio station says improving street design could help curb reckless driving in the city.
Police in Wisconsin busted a pouting, 62-year old man for the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding man, once again claiming he thought he hit a deer. Which seems to be the universal Get Out of Jail Free card for hit-and-run drivers in northern states.
Life is cheap in Massachusetts, where a driver walked without a single day behind bars for killing a 69-year old man on a bicycle while she was FaceTiming with a friend — but at least she lost her driver’s license for 15 years. Not that losing a license seems to stop anyone from getting behind the wheel anyway, though.
New York is investing $178.8 million for improving active transportation in the state.
New York-based FEND will launch the first folding bike helmet with built-in front and rear lights, after a crowdfunding page raised nearly four times the $20,000 goal.
The mass carnage on the streets continues, as three people in their 60s were seriously injured when a 16-year old driver left-crossed them as they rode in a Florida bike lane, turning her car directly in front of a couple on a tandem and a man on his own bike. Proving once again you can’t spell “carnage” without “car.”
International
Bike Radar offers a complete buyers guide to adaptive bicycles.
Hong Kong may move to require helmets for all bike riders, citing an increase in crashes involving bicyclists. Never mind that helmets are designed to protect against slow speed falls, not collisions with cars and their drivers.
Competitive Cycling
Italian cycling great Mario Cipollini faces two and a half years behind bars on charges of domestic abuse for stalking and threatening his ex-wife, both before and after their marriage, including breaking her bicycle in half so she couldn’t ride it without him.
Lawson Craddock defended his title in the elite men’s time trial title at USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships, edging 20-year old Magnus Sheffield.
Leah Thomas won the women’s time trial title, beating four-time US time trial champ Amber Neben by a whopping 44 seconds.
A Knoxville, Tennessee news site suggests five cyclists to watch at the national championships this weekend.
Finally…
That feeling when your big, clunky plastic bike comes sans chain. Everything Google says you always wanted to know about the Tour de France and weren’t afraid to ask.
And strip down and saddle up for tomorrow’s Los Angeles edition of the World Naked Bike Ride.
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Thanks to David E for his generous donation to help support this site, and keep SoCal’s best source for bike news coming your way every day. Your generosity, and the support of our sponsors, is what keeps this site going.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
Create true multimodal networks for vibrant cities, Griffith Park Drive closes to cars next week, and ticketing speeding bicyclists
They get it.
The World Resources Institute says the secret to creating vibrant US cities — and meeting US climate goals — is to invest in true multimodal transportation.
The group calls for a coordinated system of various modes of transportation that work for the entire community.
Transportation emits more climate-warming greenhouse gases than any other sector in the United States, so cutting carbon from transport is also essential to achieving the ambitious goal of reducing emissions 50%-52% by 2030. Recent modeling from America Is All In, a coalition of state and local climate leaders, shows that emissions reductions in the transportation sector can contribute more than one-third of what’s needed to reach the 2030 U.S. climate goal.
The key is to go multi-modal: not just cars, buses, rail, bicycles or walking, but a coordinated system of various modes of transportation. States, tribes, cities, universities and businesses have vital roles to play in developing clean multi-modal transportation systems that work for the entire community while fostering health, safety and economic prosperity.
Photo by Blue Bird from Pexels.
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About damn time.
Griffith Park Drive will be closed to cars between Travel Town and Mount Hollywood Drive starting next week, part of a pilot program to “reduce cut-through traffic and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and wildlife.”
Now do the rest of the streets in Griffith Park. Because parks are for people, not cars.
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Bicycling questions whether bicyclists should be subject to speeding tickets in Toronto’s High Park, where police are using speed guns to enforce a 13 mph speed limit. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem to be available on Yahoo, so you’re on your own if the magazine blocks you.
I’ve long questioned whether speed limits, like the 8 mph limit on the boardwalk in Hermosa Beach, are enforceable for people on bicycles without cycling computers or other forms of speedometers.
After all, how can you be punished for breaking a law if you have no viable way of knowing you’re breaking it?
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Even a deaf cat knows ice cream trucks don’t belong in the bike lanes on London’s Westminster Bridge.
A Scottish national time trial champ said she wanted to quit the sport after men on motorcycles leered at her and tried to knock her off her bike on two separate occasions. Seriously, guys. Give that Neanderthal crap a rest.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Jamaican truck driver refused to stop after a man rolled a bicycle into his path, in what may have been a robbery attempt.
A man in Donnybrook, Ireland was the victim of a real donnybrook when he was severely beaten by a man riding on a bike path, after reflexively putting out an elbow to protect himself from the distracted rider.
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Local
Streetsblog reports the long-promised bike lanes on the North Spring Street Bridge connecting Lincoln Heights and Chinatown should finally be striped in the coming months, after nearby street resurfacing is finished.
A woman and her dogs were killed by lightening while walking on the San Gabriel River bike trail in Pico Rivera yesterday. A tragic reminder to always seek shelter anytime you see lightening or hear thunder, and get away from your bike if it has a metal frame.
State
The head of Caltrans District 7, which covers Los Angeles and Ventura counties, got a promotion to become the new leader of the state transportation agency.
Encinitas opened the newest segment of the North Coast Bike Trail, offering bike riders and pedestrians a view of the San Elijo Lagoon from a giant concrete jellyfish.
A UC Santa Barbara geography professor is crowdsourcing data for Bike Maps to identify the city’s best bike routes and worst hot spots.
The co-owners of Emeryville-based Clif Bar are now billionaires, after walking away from a $120 million buyout offer 22 years ago.
A Chico man faces seven years to life behind bars after pleading guilty to the random, senseless shooting of a man riding on a bike path two years ago, when he was just 17.
National
No, The Atlantic didn’t call Biden’s bike crash heroic.
Bike Hacks helps you plan what to bring on an overnight bikepacking trip. I’d add bug spray to that list. And a bike.
A Seattle man was been charged with assault and theft for stealing someone’s bicycle in a strong-arm robbery and illegally riding it onto a freeway; that came after he shattered a bus door when the driver wouldn’t let him on at an intersection.
My former home state of Colorado has the second-highest rate of bike commuters in the US, behind only Oregon, although it’s still a relatively paltry 1.1%.
Speaking of Colorado, the state held its Bike to Work Day yesterday, although most of the news stories are hidden behind paywalls; here’s one from Colorado Springs that isn’t. However, the day was marred when a bike rider was killed when he was run down by a pickup driver.
A 60-something Black stroke survivor is riding from Maine to Florida to call attention to stroke awareness, as well as her nonprofit Heels on Wheels; she’s already completed rides from Florida to California, and down the West Coast.
Local readers crowdsource the best places to ride a bike in Massachusetts.
A group of MIT students are riding across the US to conduct STEM workshops — science, technology, engineering and math — for students along the way.
A Pennsylvania driver faces DUI and drug charges for running down a woman on a bicycle while attempting to pass another car on the right.
International
Cycling News offers a guide to selling your old bike, while Road.cc goes deep on how to choose a bike helmet.
They get it, too. Toronto’s Globe and Mail calls for Vision Zero to end the 2,000 traffic deaths in the country each year, saying road deaths are never really accidents.
An 83-year old English man says he’s lucky to be alive after falling down a set of steps while attempting to walk his bike down a steep hill while wearing cycling cleats; the stairs were installed as an alternative for people unable, or unwilling, to ride the steep descent.
Credit British acting legend Dame Judy Dench with providing a full 10% — the equivalent of $2,334 — of the $24,333 goal for a man riding his bike across the US to raise funds to fight MS.
Life is cheap in the UK, where a driver high on ecstasy and coke got three years for killing a man riding a bicycle; he was five times over the legal limit for ecstasy and six times the limit for cocaine. Which bizarrely means there’s actually a legal amount of illegal drugs you can have in your system.
Police in Dubai have seized 400 bicycles and mopeds in a crackdown on scofflaw riders.
A Sydney, Australia paper says bike riders and pedestrians want separate trails, not shared paths.
Competitive Cycling
VeloNews offers a preview of today’s men’s and women’s elite time trials at the US Professional Road National Championships.
Nineteen-year old Luke Lamperti wants to prove last year’s US crit title was no fluke, setting his sights on the national road race championship to improve his chances of making the World Tour next year.
Finally…
That feeling when Strava reveals the location of secret military installations. Or when you get a settlement for getting busted for twerking in a bike lane.
And something tells me there’s a story here.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
Category: Morning Links / Tags: bicycling, bikeway networks, bus lanes, carfree streets, climate emergency, Griffith Park Drive, Los Angeles, multimodal, speeding
US Army vet from Belize killed in March bike crash in Carson, only makes the news now
Too often, someone can be killed in a bicycling crash, and it never makes the news.
Or if it does, it may show up somewhere far away.
That was the case this March, when a 20-year veteran of the US Army was killed, without making a blip in the local media until the story popped up in his home country of Belize yesterday.
According to the Breaking Belize News website, 49-year old Sergeant Brian George Martinez was killed in an early morning collision while training for the Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Class, a one day amateur bike race held annually in the country since 1928.
The news surfaced in a story about his mother donating his bicycling gear to the Cycling Federation of Belize following his death.
An April Facebook post from the organization said Martinez was killed in Los Angeles on March 17th, just one week after he sent in his registration for the race.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office confirms his death.
Meanwhile, a website for a Los Angeles law firm places the collision at the intersection of East Victoria Street and South Avalon Boulevard in Carson.
He died at the scene.
There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or if the driver was ticketed or charged. Or even stopped following the crash, for that matter.
In addition to his military career, Martinez worked as a Licensed Clinical Health and Mental Health Therapist in Los Angeles.
This is at least the 46th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 17th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Brian George Martinez and all his loved ones.
Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: Belize, bicycling fatality, Carson, Los Angles County, US Army
