Ghost bike vandalized after WeHo vote, bicycling man attacked ebiking 14-year old Santa Clarita kid, and bikes beat dementia

September 22, 2025 / / No comments
Day 265 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with some people?

The debate at West Hollywood City Hall that resulted in approval of the Complete Streets makeover of Fountain Ave last Monday was acrimonious.

To say the least.

And in any such debate, some people will inevitably be upset by the result. But why take that anger out on a memorial for a victim of traffic violence?

It was two months ago, nearly to the day, when Blake Ackerman’s ghost bike was installed, as his friends and loved ones, many of whom had flown in for his funeral, carefully attached photos and inscribed messages on the bike.

In the two months since, it has been carefully maintained, as someone — whether family members or friends — kept it clean and replaced the flowers before they could whither.

Then sometime after that contentious vote, some vindictive vandal destroyed all that.

According to the WeHo Times, the heartless destruction occurred sometime overnight, with the vandal ripping up photos and signs, dumping flowers and shattering vases. But at least they left the bike itself alone.

A photo taken the next morning showed shards from broken vase next to the sparse white bike.

It broke my heart to pass by in the days since, knowing the love and grief that had been poured into it.

So I resolved to buy a bunch of flowers to put on his bike, just to show that someone cared, and that hate and rage can’t be allowed to win.

But before I got there on Sunday, someone had beaten me to it, placing a small bunch of flowers in the basket, and adorning it with artificial white roses.

Maybe others in the community will be inspired to add to it, showing that we care, and sending a message that love is stronger than hate.

We can hope.

Or better yet, we can do it.

Thanks to Andrew for the heads-up. 

………

It takes a major schmuck to assault a 14-year old kid.

And an even bigger one to attack the kid in an apparent case of bike rage, just because he didn’t like the way he got passed on a bike path.

I mean seriously, get over it already.

According to KTLA-5, the boy was riding ebikes with a friend on the San Francisquito Creek Trail in Santa Clarita around dusk last Wednesday, when they were startled to see a man riding his bike without lights just ahead of them.

They swerved around him, with one boy letting out a scream as them continued down the path.

But instead of leaving him behind, the man chased the kids, and knocked the victim off his bike when he caught up to him. Within seconds, the man was on top of him, repeatedly punching the kid with one hand while holding a knife in the other, shouting that he was going to kill him.

The boys then recorded the man stomping of the victim’s ebike, cutting the cables and slashing the tires as they cried out for help.

The attack only ended when a Good Samaritan stopped his car and got out to help, and the attacker slunk away into the night.

The boy, whose name has been withheld, was lucky to escape without serious injuries.

Sheriff’s deputies are looking for a muscular white man with a mustache in his 30s or 40s, who was riding an orange bicycle.

If you think you know this jerk, call the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station at 661/260-4000

………

If you want to keep a sharp mind as you age, ride a bike. That’s the conclusion of a new study showing bicycling dramatically reduces your risk of dementia.

According to CNN,

Riding a bike is associated with a 19% lower risk of all-cause dementia and a 22% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, compared with taking nonactive travel modes such as a car, bus or train, found the study that assessed nearly 480,000 participants from Great Britain and published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Physical activity has long been associated with lower dementia risk in multiple studies, so much so that the 2024 Lancet Commissionidentified it as one of 14 factors responsible for preventing or delaying approximately 45% of dementia cases. More than 55 million people worldwide have dementia, a number expected to nearly triple by 2050.

So get pedaling.

………

Local 

A 30-year old man was killed in a collision with an LAPD cop while riding a skateboard in Highland Park Friday night; the victim was riding in the center divider when the officer passed other traffic on the left while responding to a call without lights and siren.

 

State

An enterprising — or maybe desperate — Santa Fe, New Mexico bike rider started a fire to signal police, after he was the victim of a hit-and-run driver fleeing the cops after allegedly choking a family member; police arrested the 24-year old man on DUI and hit-and-run charges, as well as domestic violence and false imprisonment. Yet he was somehow still on the road despite three previous DUI convictions.

Fallen ebike rider and surf legend scion Kolby Aipa was honored with a traditional paddle out in Huntington Beach, as well as induction into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame.

Sad news from Santa Rosa, where an elderly bike rider was killed after stopping on the side Old Redwood Highway north of the city when an SUV driver drifted off the roadway.

 

National

Great idea. A couple of Hawaiian bicycling organizations are teaming with a funder to provide ebikes to victims of the Maui wildfire.

A 19-year old college sophomore from Belen, New Mexico is still missing, 37 years after she disappeared while on her daily 36-mile bike ride — and two years after police said they had made substantial progress in the case.

A four-person team of Wichita, Kansas bicyclists rode across the entire state in 24 hours, from Colorado to Missouri, raising $4,000 for refugees.

An Austin, Texas ebike rider is suing an autonomous vehicle company, alleging one of their delivery robots rolled out in front of him in a bike lane when he had the right-of-way.

It’s happened again. An alleged drunk driver slammed into a 38-year old woman riding an ebike in Gulfport, Florida, then drove eight blocks with her body lodged in his windshield; police arrested a 22-year old man a few miles away.

 

International

London is considering increasing the fines for scofflaw bicyclists who commit “dangerous, antisocial and nuisance cycling behaviors,” like repeatedly running red lights.

Momentum says London deliveries are getting a two-wheeled makeover from a massive cargo bike boom.

The infrastructure minister for my ancestral home says there are no plans “at this time” to require bike riders to wear helmets on the Isle of Man, just months after a failed proposal to ban bikes from a crowded mountain road.

A bicycle website takes the Irish Times newspaper to task for “stoking hostility between road users” as bicycling deaths reached a ten-year high, by publishing a letter reading “Sir, – on a recent visit to Dublin I saw a cyclist stopped at a red light. Is this a record?”

Grenoble, Strasbourg and Rennes have topped the list of bike friendly French cities since 2021, for your next trip to the land of wine and cheese.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Road Cycling World Championships are under way in Rwanda, with Remco Evenepoel winning his third consecutive time trial; Jay Vine finished second and Ilan van Wilder third, while Tadej Pogačar just missed the podium in fourth.

Swiss cyclist Marlen Reusser won the women’s time trial, with Anna van der Breggen second and her Dutch teammate Demi Vollering third.

Everyone competing in this year’s worlds will be required to carry a GPS tracker following the death last year of 18-year-old Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer, who lay unnoticed on the side of the road for an hour-and-a-half after falling in the junior women’s road race.

A Rwandan website says the story of Jean-Marie Vianney Gahemba, father of the country’s most decorated cyclist, shows just how far they have come.

A writer for Bike Radar found the “mismatched, beat-up” bike Tadej Pogačar rode to his first Continental victory, bearing “all the hallmarks of a U23 racer on a budget,” while demonstrating his talent was forged the hard way.

 

Finally…

Who needs pedals for a world biking championship? That feeling when a Nobel Laureate tells you to drink pickle juice to avoid cramps (scroll down), when he could have just recommended rotted herring.

And if you’re riding your bike with nearly 26 grams of coke, 8 grams of meth, and 2 grams of fentanyl stashed in your wallet, hatband and underwear, just obey the damn traffic laws, already.

………

L’shana tovah to everyone celebrating tonight. 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Update: One person killed and 2nd injured when two bike riders collided on San Diego’s Lake Murray Bike Path Friday morning

September 19, 2025 / / 2 comments

Sometimes the danger doesn’t come from drivers.

Or even on the roadway.

That was the case in San Diego Friday, when one person was killed and another injured riding on the bike path at the city’s Lake Murray around 7:25 am.

According to multiple sources, the two bicyclists collided head-on while reportedly exceeding the posted 10 mph speed limit.

One victim died at the scene, while the other was hospitalized.

There’s no word on exactly where on the trail around Lake Murray that the crash occurred, but people who know the trail say there are a number of blind curves where you wouldn’t see someone coming from the opposite direction.

There’s also no information yet on the identity of either victim, or the condition of the survivor.

This is at least the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 68-year old El Cajon resident David Engler.

Authorities say he was not wearing a helmet, but while the medical examiner’s report says he died of blunt force trauma, it does not indicate whether he suffered a head injury. 

The other victim was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for David Engler and his loved one.

And best wishes for a full and fast recovery for the surviving victim. 

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

Apparent road rage driver kills Long Beach hazmat driver, and Pedal Ahead finally out as CA ebike incentive operator

September 19, 2025 / / One comment
Day 262 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

This is who we share the road with.

A San Diego driver is under investigation for a fatal Long Beach crash that appears have been the result of road rage.

The Times of San Diego reports that two drivers were weaving through traffic on eastbound Seventh Street at high speeds when one of the drivers, in a 2023 Tesla Model 3, crashed into the rear of a box truck carry hazardous materials, killing the driver and injuring two passengers. The driver of the Tesla was also taken to a local hospital with undisclosed injuries.

Fortunately, none of the hazardous material was released.

The other driver, in a dark-colored Subaru, apparently fled the scene.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Collision Investigation Detail Detective Ashley Van Holland of the Long Beach Police Department at 562/570-7355, or anonymously at 800/222-TIPS (8477).

………

San Diego’s scandal-plagued nonprofit Pedal Ahead may finally be out as the operator of California’s problem-plagued ebike incentive program.

Not that we weren’t told they had been 86’d long before now, while still managing to manage the latest round of incentives, where they finally got it right.

Although it certainly makes you wonder what the hell took them so long.

Thanks to Ellectrek for the heads-up.

………

Longtime British talk show host Graham Norton is one of us, showing up for the Dish podcast by bicycle.

Then again, so did hosts Steve Coogan and Chris Evans.

Thanks to Megan for the heads-up. 

………

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

Berkeley police say a man riding a bicycle was injured when he was intentionally run down by a driver traveling at an estimated 45-50 mph, after the driver had deliberately crashed into two other people; students and parents at a nearby elementary school were concerned when the man they know as Mr. Bob didn’t show up to help keep morning drop-offs moving.

………

Local 

Seriously? A law firm reports that a 13-year old girl was injured in a “horrific” collision in Newhall — even though a local radio station says she only suffered minor injuries. Which kinda makes you wonder what their definition of horrific is. And what they’d call it if someone really was badly hurt.

 

State

Sad news from Atwater, near Merced, where someone riding a bicycle was killed by a driver near the local high school. Although the story didn’t even mention that the car had a driver until the last sentence.

Alameda is joining “Week without Driving,” a national campaign sponsored by American Walks and Disability Rights Washington to get people to leave their cars at home for the week of Sept. 29 to Oct. 5. Or at it’s known here in Los Angeles, just another week to clog the roads and run over anyone in your way. 

An 11-year old Roseville boy says he’s thankful for his fellow middle school students, who tended to his injuries for 30 minutes, until his mom arrived, after he fell off the back of a friend’s ebike.

 

National

Momentum recommends eight of the leading bicycle advocacy groups they think you should check out right now; along with the usual suspects is Santa Barbara’s Bici Centro.

You could win a custom handmade mountain bike built by some of the most respected framebuilders in the bike industry by donating ten bucks to the Builders for Builders trailbuilding fundraiser.

YooxArmor is recalling about 1,780 of their Chinese-made multi-purpose kids’ helmets, which were sold on Amazon, because they violate US safety standards.

New York has distributed 400 new ebikes to delivery workers as part of the city’s trade-in campaign to eliminate unsafe ebikes and batteries.

 

International

Road.cc recommends the “real ultimate commuting checklist” for bicyclists, including a good bike cam and social media accounts to post video of misbehaving drivers, along with spidey senses, and a good belt.

The Guardian recommends ten safety essentials you shouldn’t leave home on your bike without. Not that they don’t have a small financial interest in you buying them or anything.

London borough Richmond upon Thames is criticized for prioritizing electric vehicle use as a “key strategic pillar,” while treating bicycling and walking as an afterthought.

A British man was awarded the equivalent of $2,700 after he was detained by police following a fatal crash involving a bike rider and a speeding driver, even though he was only a witness to the crash — not to mention the only nonwhite person at the scene.

If you’re still riding a bicycle in your 80s, you deserve better than to be killed by a heartless hit-and-run coward, like this 80-year old man in Ireland was.

The Washington Post digs into the story of French ultra-endurance bicyclist Sofiane Sehili, who was arrested for illegally crossing into Russia from China while trying to set a record for the fastest crossing of Eurasia by bicycle, despite having a valid visa to enter the country.

 

Competitive Cycling

Rwanda is set to host this year’s UCI Road World Championships starting on Sunday, in a first for any African country.

Cyclist talks with 2024 Tour de France Femmes Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. And yes, she’s married to exactly who you probably think.

There’s not a pit deep enough for whoever stole a $35,000 custom-made handcycle apparently belonging to a member of Canada’s paracycling team.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can own your very own lightly used retro pro bike. And when you’re dealing coke, MDMA, weed and ketamine, and out riding your bike while high on the latter, maybe try stopping for red lights.

Assuming you’re not too stoned to even see them, of course.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

WeHo councilmembers explain support for Fountain Ave, and Metro approves $85.5 million for LA County bike/ped projects

September 18, 2025 / / No comments
Day 261 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

They get it.

Well, some of them, anyway.

As we mentioned on Tuesday, the Complete Streets makeover of Fountain Ave in West Hollywood will go forward, after a seemingly endless multi-year process.

One that saw far too many avoidable deaths and injuries along the way, along with countless dollars in property damage.

Sam Mulick, a reporter for the Beverly Press & Park LaBrea News, reported on Monday’s West Hollywood City Council, where the first phase of the Fountain Ave redesign was approved on a 3-2 vote.

Councilmembers John Heilman and Lauren Meister cast the no votes, while Mayor Chelsea Byers, and Councilmen John Erickson and Danny Hang voted yes.

I’ll let you read Mulick’s story if you want Heilman’s and Meister’s reasoning for opposing the project.

But at least Meister asked the right questions, even if it seemed like she could benefit from sitting down with someone who could correct a few misperceptions on traffic safety.

Heilman, however, seemed to be a lost cause.

But let’s take a moment to examine why the other three supported the project, which could have a dramatic effect on traffic safety, while significantly improving livability on the corridor.

“It’s our responsibility to create options for a diverse community,” (Byers) said. “That is something that’s really important to me especially in this extremely dense area of our community. Kids, especially, have been locked inside of their homes … it is because cars and collisions and the violence they experience interacting with them is the No. 1 contributor to kids’ deaths. And that is a horrific reality that we can transform without having to send families to suburbs.”

Then there were these heartrending comments from Erickson and Hang, both of whom seemed to fully grasp the cost of keeping the street in its current deadly, car-choked form.

“This is my backyard and the sheer fact that I walk by Blake Ackerman’s ghost bike every single day to walk my dog is truly one of the most haunting experiences I have ever had to experience,” (Erickson) said. “This process that we have been going through for five years is killing people. It’s just that simple.”

Councilman Danny Hang said that the redesign will help lower income residents who travel without cars and help the city meet climate goals by reducing emissions. Hang added that the redesign is personal to him because his partner was the victim of a vehicle collision on Fountain Avenue and was hospitalized as a result.

“Fountain Avenue has long been one of the most dangerous corridors in our city,” he said. “Just over a decade we have seen dozens of severe crashes and five lives lost. Those aren’t just numbers. Those are our neighbors and friends and family members and for me, the most important measure of success is simple – fewer people getting hurt and more people getting home safely.”

However, the war isn’t over.

The project will come back before the council again next year, when they will have to approve a construction contract for the first phase. Any change in the makeup of the council could adversely affect that vote.

But for now, at least, we’re finally on our way to a safer Fountain Ave. Even if it comes too late for Ackerman, and too many others.

………

Local 

Metro approved $85.5 million in grants for 16 projects throughout Los Angeles County, primarily for first mile/last mile connections and improving mobility for the Olympics; among the projects are new protected bike lanes on Overland Ave in Culver City, and closing another gap in the LA River bike path through the San Fernando Valley.

 

State

Huntington Beach is considering extending restrictions on ebike-riding kids, requiring them to ride on city streets or bike lanes near places like schools and churches. Never mind that bike lanes are, by definition, on streets, or that once again, there appears to be no distinction between ped-assist ebikes and illegal dirt bikes and electric motorcycles.

Carlsbad continued its march to age restrictions for ebike riders, after the Traffic Safety & Mobility Commission voted Tuesday to recommend banning kids under 12 from riding ebikes, although the Coast News calls the restrictions “toothless.”

Cathedral City is installing new painted bike lanes on Whispering Palms Trail as part of the city’s Active Transportation Plan.

Ventura’s city council voted to keep six downtown blocks carfree, like they have been since the early days of the pandemic.

Parents in Menlo Park are complaining that new speed humps installed as part of a Complete Streets project are making it more dangerous for their kids to bike to school, because they extend all the way across the bike lane.

San Francisco voters recalled Supervisor Joel Engardio by a nearly two-thirds margin over his support for turning a two-mile stretch of the Great Highway into a linear park; now recall proponents will try to force its return to a smog- and traffic-choked coastal highway.

 

National

Electrek scrubbed Rivian’s behind-the-scene promo video, and pieced together leaked images of their upcoming ebike that the company had blurred, revealing what appears to be a ped-assist cargo bike.

Seattle opened new protected bike lanes on the least-steep section of the city’s Beacon Hill, creating a 6.5 mile protected corridor across the city. Thanks to fellow corgi dad Mike for the heads-up. 

Good idea. Spokane, Washington’s Bicycling Advisory Board took to their bikes to ride the city’s streets, looking for areas that need improvement. Although with 7,500 miles of streets in Los Angeles, that could take awhile here. 

I want to be like them when I grow up. Sequim, Washington’s Ancient and Honorable Cyclists held their annual meetup; 18 of the group’s 22 octogenarian members turned out, most of whom ride three times or more a week.

Utah just found the skeletal remains of a 47-year old homeless man who disappeared three years ago after setting out for a bike ride.

The editor of a Colorado newspaper says “the world feels like it’s going to h-e-double-toothpicks without the incentive of a handbasket right now,” but at least living in a small town where kids can ride their bikes makes life a little better.

New York is claiming progress on Vision Zero, as the city experienced its lowest level of traffic deaths in five years. Proof that reducing traffic deaths is possible if cities actually take it seriously, unlike a certain SoCal megalopolis I could name. 

 

International

Vancouver, British Columbia is reversing course once again on bike lanes in the city’s 1,000-acre Stanley Park, after the Park Board approved a new mobility plan containing separated bike lanes, just two years after ripping out previously installed bike lanes through the park.

A 62-year old Englishman rode his bike 105 miles from London’s Hyde Park to his home in Wiltshire to raise money for hospice care — despite two previous strokes and having a pacemaker, osteoarthritis and just one kidney.

The UK’s biggest bicycle retailer says things are finally starting to look up, following a modest 1.7% increase in sales this year.

French ultra cyclist Sofiane Sehili is being held in pre-trial detention in Russia until October 4th on unannounced, super-secret charges, after being arrested for an illegal border crossing while attempting to set a record for the fastest crossing of Eurasia by bike.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling Australia examines the process that brought Africa’s first UCI Road World Championships to Rwanda.

Sports Illustrated says the stampede to join the ever-expanding Team Visma-Lease a Bike cycling team continues, as 23-year old Italian “superstar” Davide Piganzoli signed a three-year “mega deal” with the team. Although that seems like a very generous use of the term “superstar” for someone who just graduated from the U23 ranks. 

 

Finally…

Now even the trees are out to get us. Being violent ebike thieves is bad enough, but kitty-napping is just going too damn far.

And if the Jolly Green Giant ever needs a new bike, he’ll now know where to find a few.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Conservative Karen plays victim at bike race, CA Sen. Weiner at virtual happy hour today, and ebike incentives change lives

September 17, 2025 / / No comments
Day 260 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

No bias here.

A “women’s sports activist” calls it the “most terrifying two minutes” of her life when volunteers at a women’s bike race objected to being harassed.

It all starts when the woman walked up to people working the race, asking if there are any men competing in the women’s race.

When one man says no, to the best of his knowledge, she asks if the competitors have been “sex tested” to ensure they’re really women.

As if.

One of the volunteers takes offense and holds her hand over the woman’s phone, telling her not to record her. She responds as if she’s somehow being violently assaulted, running away and calling out to another woman for help.

The video ends when a man gets in her face and telling her to “get the fuck out of here.” Which, in all honesty, is probably exactly how I would have responded.

In a second video, she accuses the same man of attacking her with an empty Costco pizza box. If by attacking, she means simply holding it up to block her camera, while she demands to know his name “for the police report.”

She also says that someone stole her signs. Although if that happened, it was after I stopped watching because I just didn’t have the stomach for it.

According to Fox News, though, the incident is being investigated by the local police. Because apparently, they don’t have any real crimes to deal with.

To me, she comes off as a Karen who intentionally instigates the entire incident by harassing people just trying to support a local bike race. And this country is divided enough without creating incidents to elicit your own faux outrage.

Let alone a national news network blowing it out of any rational proportion.

But you can watch it and decide for yourself.

Photo shows cyclists from women’s 2019 Amgen Tour of California — which, to the best of my knowledge, also had no men.

………

Streets For All’s virtual happy hour featuring San Francisco’s progressive California State Senator Scott Wiener will take place at 5 pm today.

………

In a video demonstrating the benefits of ebike incentive programs, a Boston area couple discuss how that city’s program allowed the husband to ride a recumbent ebike, after being housebound for the past 15 years.

………

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

No bias here, either. Cupertino is weighing a number of proposals to weaken the city’s Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, to “ensure equal representation on large infrastructure projects between drivers and pedestrians.” Because evidently, all those poor, put-upon drivers just don’t have enough of the roadway as it is, and have to risk their safety every day sharing the road with people walking or on bicycles.

An Illinois bike rider told police a road-raging driver threatened him with a gun, after first honking and yelling at him while following his bike, then crashing into him when the bicyclist stopped at a red light.

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

Police in Toledo, Ohio won’t cite a bike rider for blowing through a crosswalk and crashing into the side of a vehicle, even though he was at fault — because he’s only five years old.

………

Local 

A Los Angeles man recalls a “glorious” four-mile bike ride with his young son from his in-laws home in Germany to Basel, Switzerland for coffee, and to attend services in a thousand-year old Anglican Church. I’d call that pretty damned glorious, too. 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued 34 citations during last week’s bicycle and pedestrian safety operation, along with another 19 tickets for distracted driving. And one arrest for riding a stolen motorcycle.

Rides on the Metro Bike bikeshare system will be free this weekend, from Friday through 3 am Monday, along with all rides on Metro buses, trains and Metro Micro.

 

State

Electrek says Irvine-based Rivian keeps dropping “strange, cryptic teasers” about their sort of super secret ebike program.

Sad news from Merced County, where a 60-year old man was killed while riding his bike in Merced County last week. But at least the 16-year old driver had enough sense to stop and call 911, unlike many much older drivers, although 60 mph seems way too fast for a dirt road.

A dog walker, a jogger and a bicyclist became collateral damage when a Berkeley driver rammed another vehicle and jumped the curb, striking them, then unsuccessfully attempted to carjack a woman with a child.

Palo Alto is weighing options for tunnels for pedestrians and bike riders under the local railroad tracks, or possibly a centerline bike lane on a bridge over the tracks. Even though tunnels tend to get filled with trash, and are significantly safety-challenged, especially for women and particularly at night. And just ask San Francisco bike riders whether center-running bike lanes are a good idea, after they were ripped out on Valencia Street because nearly everyone hated them. 

More sad news, this time from Roseville, where a man in his 60s was killed when he was struck by a driver while riding his bike in a crosswalk near a freeway onramp.

 

National

A writer for Men’s Health sets out to settle once and for all whether mountain or gravel bikes are better for adventure bicycling.

An Evergreen, Colorado bike shop will move into a historic, 77-year old building — but only after they move the building, which was slated for destruction.

More proof that bikes are good for business. A new study shows that bicycling is now one of Iowa’s top 50 industries, generating $1.4 billion in economic impact affecting all 99 counties, with the biggest gains in the service and retail sectors, such as restaurants, bars and bike shops.

Kansas City is proposing a five-to-three lane reduction on a downtown thoroughfare, including angled parking and a buffered bike lane to slow traffic and improve safety for bike riders and pedestrians.

Police in Milwaukee may be close to solving the brutal murder of an 18-year old woman who disappeared after going for a bike ride 46 years ago, after DNA testing pointed a finger at a 22-year old man who committed suicide in 1980; investigators got a search warrant to exhume his grave for DNA samples.

A Massachusetts website recommends trails to ride your bike in the coastal Northshore region above Boston.

Philadelphia is getting a speed cam on a second dangerous street, after seeing significant safety improvement following the installation of speed cameras on another deadly street five years ago. To which Los Angeles responded <crickets>.

Nice guy. A suspected hit-and-run driver faces charges for resisting arrest, after police investigating the crash that killed a 19-year old Pennsylvania man riding a bicycle had to force their way into his home, then carry him out when he refused to cooperate.

Tampa, Florida is hosting a big bike ride on September 20th to mark World Car Free Day. Or as it’s called here in Los Angeles, Saturday.

 

International

At least one person was arrested following the hit-and-run crash that killed a bike-riding London woman when a group of mo-ped riders swarmed the bike lane she was riding in, then fled the scene on foot after crashing into her.

A 40-year old Scottish man was sentenced to six years behind bars for the reckless driving crash that killed a 32-year old man riding a bicycle.

Cycling Electric recommends a long list of the best ebikes available in the UK, most of which you can find here. Although you’ll have to convert the prices to dollars, instead of pounds.

French ultra-distance cyclist Sofiane Sehili remains behind bars in Vladivostok, Russia, and will likely be imprisoned for illegally crossing the border while trying to set a new record for the fastest bicycle crossing of Eurasia.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling News calls next year’s resumption of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic a “glimmer of hope for US cycling as top-level race returns to major city,” while four-time US national road champ Freddie Rodriguez says “For cyclists, only the Champs Élysées on the last day of the Tour matches the Philly ambiance.”

Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter helped bring the race back, arguing that it will be a “force for unity.”

 

Finally…

Forget the energy bars, you need to be doing broccoli shots, evidently. That feeling when a paper ranks the top 11 bicycling cities in Europe — from six years ago.

And when the new mayor of the bike path is into catnip.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

WeHo Council approves Fountain Ave project, dismal year for CA safety bills, and road rage driver threatens NY ambulance

September 16, 2025 / / No comments
Day 259 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

There’s good news on Fountain Ave for a change.

After three-and-a-half hours of public discussion, a deeply divided West Hollywood City Council voted to move forward with a Complete Streets makeover of the deadly corridor — including curb protected bike lanes.

It’s going to take awhile to digest everything, in part because the actual vote got a little confusing when they broke the motion into three parts.

But here’s how things broke down.

First up was a vote to approve staff recommendations 1 & 3, which passed 3-2:

  • Consider approval of 30% Plans for Phase 1 of the Project;
  • Approve Amendment No. 2 to the Agreement for Services with Fehr & Peers in the amount of $131,040 to provide Construction Administration and design contingency for Phase 1 of the Project;

Second, the council voted unanimously to approve recommendations 2 & 4, amended to include an assessment of removing peak hour parking:

  • Provide direction on recommended immediate traffic calming measures that can be made in the next 1-2 months ahead of the delivery of Phase 1 of the Project;
  • Authorize Staff to initiate Phase 2 of the Project, including the release of a Request for Proposals for a Phase 2 consultant, and the expansion of the Steering Committee to guide the visioning process;

Finally, they approved recommendation 5 to exempt the project from CEQA by another 3-2 vote:

  • Find Phase 1 of the Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project statutorily and categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code sections §21080.25, §15301(c), and §15304(h).

By my count, public comment broke down 25 to 18 in favor of the project, though there were a handful of comments that required a secret decoder ring to figure out whether they were for or against.

And a few even that didn’t work for.

While the final outcome is great news, the close vote means it would only take a change of one vote to halt things in its tracks when the project returns to the council next year to approve a construction contract.

So it’s still fingers crossed for now. But things are looking pretty good.

………

On the other hand, things aren’t looking great in the state legislature, as Streetsblog reports only a few traffic safety-related passed both houses before the deadline.

  • AB 366 extends the operation of interlock devices indefinitely after a driver is found guilty of a DUI and repeals related reporting requirements
  • SB 71 streamlines CEQA review requirements for public transportation and bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects that reduce car dependency
  • SB 720 modernizes state regulations allowing municipalities to create and operate red light camera programs

On the other hand, a number of good bills failed to advance.

  • AB 891 would have required Caltrans to develop quick-build projects to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians
  • AB 939 would have placed a bond on next year’s statewide ballot to fund sustainable transportation throughout California
  • AB 954 failed to pass despite being significantly watered down, going from a mandate requiring that Caltrans build bike highways, to merely defining them in state planning documents
  • SB 445 would have created deadlines for permitting Complete Streets and sustainable transportation projects to prevent local governments from dragging out the process while they barter for concessions

Finally, one failure was good news, as AB 697, which would have allowed the expansion of State Route 37 through protected habitats and wetlands in Sonoma County, suffered a welcome death.

………

This is who we share the road with.

A road-raging driver in New York’s Hudson Valley faces multiple charges, after chasing an ambulance that passed him while responding to an emergency call with lights and siren — then brake-checking the ambulance after he caught up to it.

Although all the charges are misdemeanors and traffic citations at this point. But let’s hope it’s enough to keep the 47-year old man from driving again until he’s 87.

Or maybe ever.

………

Active SGV is hosting bike rides in Montebello and El Monte this Saturday.

………

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

An economist with the libertarian Hoover Institution is convinced new bike lanes on El Camino Real between Menlo Park and Sunnyvale aren’t worth the lost business during construction work and a loss of parking, because he and his wife only saw on bike rider at the exact moments they happened to go by. Never mind that bikes can be harder to see because bike lanes move riders more efficiently than traffic lanes, and that bike lanes usually result in higher retail sales.

A Florida man with a history of road rage assaults got out of his truck to threaten a 19-year old bike rider, who yelled at him about speeding, then told him to “shut the fuck up” when the driver responded by flipping him off. Thanks to Mike for the heads-up. 

Road Rage on Bayshore
byu/Ancient_Hyper_Sniper intampa

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers photos and an open thread from Sunday’s Historic South Central meets Watts CicLAvia.

Pasadena finally approved a sweeping update to the North Lake Ave Specific Plan after a 10-year public process, including wider sidewalks and bike parking, but no bike lanes despite providing access to a Metro train station.

Writing for Cycling West, Peter Abraham says he was excited by Caltrans’ plans to install new bike lanes on deadly PCH through the ‘Bu, until he learned about the 11 to 20-year timeline — and that’s if they can get funding of up to $268 million. So we might as well get more ghost bikes and white tires ready, because we’re likely to need them before they get this damn thing fixed.

 

State

British adventurer Matt Garman set out from San Diego to ride across the US, with a single bag containing just one set of clothes, a cellphone and a credit card, to raise funds for a children’s charity. And that ain’t gonna protect him from any early winter weather along the way.

Eureka will begin work this weekend to complete a bicycle blvd on the city’s C Street.

 

National

Olympic speed skater Jordan Stolz is one of us, making a comeback on the rink after suffering a deep gash in his leg when he went over his handlebars and into a ditch when his chain unravelled while riding near his Wisconsin home.

An 80-year old Boston man describes how he was the first bike rider to crash because of new speed bumps installed in a local state park.

She gets it. A Philadelphia lawyer says we need to start treating bicycling fatalities as “the natural outcome of a system that prioritizes cars above people,” and “commit to making sure they can walk, ride, and bus to class without fear.”

Heartless Virginia Beach thieves made off with an adaptive recumbent bike that a 69-year old woman was using to complete her recovery from a massive ischemic stroke that initially left the left side of her body totally paralyzed.

A Virginia group is working for safer streets through an online dashboard that allows bike riders and motorists to report near-miss collisions due to driver or infrastructure issues.

 

International

A split screen British advertising campaign is putting posters on firetrucks calling for giving bike riders and others more space on the road.

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-three-year old American cyclist Matthew Riccitello signed with the French Decathlon CMA CGM team for the next three years, after finishing fifth at the Vuelta and winning the white jersey for best young rider.

Pro cyclists say that next time it will only get worse, after pro-Palestinian protesters managed to disrupt the recent Vuelta, leading to the shortening of several stages, including the final.

UCI understandably questioned Spain’s ability to host major events going forward, while WorldTour cycling teams considered boycotting the Israel-Premier Tech team in future races; meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Israel to be banned from international competition.

The Philadelphia Cycling Classic is making an unexpected comeback next year after a ten-year hiatus, promising a return of world-class — though not necessarily WorldTour — cyclists.

I want to be like her when I grow up. An 82-year old woman nicknamed “Granny McGnarly” is still shredding downhills in mountain bike races.

 

Finally…

Well, why wouldn’t you build a new space capsule docking prototype from spare mountain bike parts? That feeling when your impromptu DIY cycling podium is made from ice chests.

And just call it Living La Vida Vaca.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Celebrating 10 years of SAFE & why I do what I do, Metro joins HLA lawsuit, and MAAP LaB LA lands on Abbot Kinney

September 15, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 258 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

I got a little dose of inspiration yesterday.

My wife, the corgi and I attended the first part of SAFE’s 10th anniversary celebration yesterday evening, before we had to leave for a family commitment.

The nonprofit group known as Streets Are For Everyone was born from Damian Kevitt’s first Finish the Ride, after more than 600 people turned out to ride with him to finish what started out as a pleasant bike ride with his wife, before it was interrupted by a heartless hit-and-run driver.

I covered that horrific 2013 crash from the very beginning as best I could, based on the cryptic reports available at the time.

But in time, it became clear that Kevitt had been struck by the driver of a van while riding on Zoo Drive, and dragged hundreds of feet onto the northbound 5 Freeway by the fleeing driver.

He freed himself from under the van by sheer force of will. And likely survived only because the trailing drivers saw what was happening and stopped to protect him, and because some of those cars has people with medical training, who began treating him at the scene before paramedics arrived.

The odds that he would survive his multiple life-threatening injuries were somewhere between slim and none. But his mother refused to give up and fought for him at every turn. And Damian’s sheer will to live was evident when he told her and his wife that he would one day finish that ride, whatever it took.

In those ten years, Damian has gone from a victim to founder of a successful organization that has spawned other traffic safety groups and shepherded a number of important bills through the state legislature, as well as memorializing victims and calling attention to our most dangerous streets.

He has become someone I truly admire and consider a good friend. And along with Streets For All founder Michael Schneider and Streetsblog’s Joe Linton, he’s one of the first people I reach out to with any bike or pedestrian safety problem that demands a solution.

We are lucky to have people and groups like that fighting for us every day.

Listening to the inspiring stories from other victims of traffic violence, along with SAFE staffers and volunteers, it coalesced in my own mind just why I do what I do, and what keeps me fighting when our mean streets and uncaring officials continue to drag me down and break my heart.

For the first time in a long time, or maybe ever, I can now sum it up in two simple sentences.

I want everyone who wants to ride a bicycle to be able to ride one, regardless of who they are or where they live.

And I want everyone who leaves home today on a bicycle to get home safely.

That’s it.

I’ll keep fighting for that as long as I have any fight in me. Sometimes I think that day was yesterday. And sometimes I think I’m just getting started.

One other note before we move on.

One of the speakers yesterday described how he was struck by a driver and badly injured just five months after moving to Los Angeles. And yesterday’s CicLAvia was the first time he had ridden a bike in this city since.

It was a reminder just how important CicLAvia and other open streets events like Beach Streets in Long Beach, and Active Streets in the San Gabriel Valley, are to all of us.

Because without them, many people in the this car-choked megalopolis wouldn’t ride bikes again.

Or at all.

Top photo: Damian Kevitt speaking at SAFE 10th Anniversary event.

………

Speaking of Joe Linton, his HLA lawsuit over the city’s failure to include bike lanes in the Vermont Ave bus lane project was in court on Friday, as Metro fought to be included in the case.

And it’s important to note that Linton’s lawsuit is a personal matter, unrelated to his work for Streetsblog.

In a very narrow ruling, the judge concluded that Metro could join the suit, but could only focus on the Vermont case, and not any other possible cases.

As Linton describes it on his personal website B.I.K.A.S, which stands for Bicycle Infrastructure Knowledge Activism and Safety,

In the discussion in court, the judge engaged Metro’s lawyers regarding how expansive this case would be. Metro’s earlier filing noted that my lawsuit “attacked” Metro’s authority to build “the Vermont Project and other Metro projects.” The judge asked Metro’s lawyer if it was ok to strike references to other projects, and just focus on Vermont. Metro’s lawyer agreed. Towards the end of the discussion, the judge summarized that this trial would focus on one project on Vermont, and that another day could focus on another project on, for example, Western or Alameda

That’s it for now.

Going forward, Metro will undoubtedly argue that HLA is a city ordinance that does not apply to them as a county agency, while Linton’s attorneys will argue that Metro is working for the city on a city project, on a city street included in the city mobility plan.

It will be interesting to see how this develops from here.

………

Conservative media was up in arms over a former member of the USA Cycling National team, after the transgender BMX rider appeared to celebrate the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Although I’m not sure if they were more appalled because of the Instagram posts or the gender identity of the person behind them.

I haven’t commented about the shooting here because it falls outside of the scope of this site.

But as someone who lived through the killings of both Kennedys and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the attempted assassinations of Presidents Ford and Reagan, and the near-fatal shooting of Alabama Governor George Wallace, I can attest that no good ever comes from political violence.

And you can’t kill an idea, good or bad, with a bullet.

………

Aussie bikewear brand MAAP has opened their first North American store right here in Los Angeles.

Known for high-performance gear and a culture-first approach, the company’s MAAP LaB Los Angeles landed on iconic Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, their eighth location outside of Australia.

According to StupidDope, it’s designed to be a creative hub for bicyclists and creatives.

At its heart lies a social coffee bar, an anchor point meant to bring riders together before and after their rides. It’s more than a retail space; it’s a venue where cyclists and Venice locals alike can gather, share stories, and connect over a shared passion for performance and design. This approach reflects MAAP’s “Life Around Bikes” philosophy — a reminder that cycling culture is about more than the ride itself.

They’re not the first to try that approach.

And Abbot Kinney is littered with the gravesites of other high-end bike brands who thought they had a “can’t miss” concept in the ideal location.

But let’s hope it succeeds this time.

………

Don’t forget the two important meetings today

First the Encino Neighborhood Council’s Traffic and Transportation Committee considers the threatened Amestoy Ave pedestrian bridge over the 101 Freeway in a virtual meeting starting at 4:45 pm.

Then starting at 6 pm, the West Hollywood City Council takes up the Fountain Ave safe streets makeover. WeHo residents can watch on Spectrum Cable channel 10 and YouTube; I’m hoping the latter works for those of us in LA, too. And comments can submitted online prior to the meeting.

………

Local 

Well, no shit. LAist says Los Angeles is lagging behind on installing the speed cams approved over a year ago by the state legislature. If “lagging behind” means not installing any yet, that is. 

A Long Beach man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening upper and lower body injuries, after allegedly swerving his bicycle in front of a driver while on PCH in Long Beach. Although we often find that drivers swear a bike rider swerved in front of them or came out of nowhere, when in actuality they just weren’t paying attention. 

 

State

Costa Mesa will offer free ebike safety lessons for school kids on September 27th.

Carlsbad is looking for input on whether to ban ebike use for kids under 12. I’m down with that, but maybe make 14, instead.

A kindhearted Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy arranged the donation of a new bike to a nine-year old kid after his was stolen.

The CEO of The San Francisco Standard news site describes what it’s like to get sideswiped by a pickup driver while nearing the end of a 100-mile training ride. But be careful if you don’t want to see it, because security cam video at the top offers a disturbing view of the crash.

A Streetsblog op-ed from a San Francisco environmentalist and transportation rider says the city can’t afford to build safe streets so slowly, as peer cities like Austin, Texas show it can be done swiftly and cheaply. Maybe Los Angeles could take notes, too. 

 

National

Bike riders in Santa Fe, New Mexico are calling for safety changes and greater accountability after a man was killed riding his bike in June, and the driver who killed him walked with a deferred sentence.

The mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming is about to become a former bike shop owner, after he announced the store will be closing after 35 years — leaving just one other bike shop in the state’s largest city.

A 21-year old autistic man from Billings, Montana got his stolen adaptive tricycle back after community outrage encouraged someone to drop it off at city hall.

Bike riders in Houston bared all for the World Naked Bike Ride, while accusing the city of backsliding on safety; some people did the same in Los Angeles, too.

A five-day bike ride is traveling 700 miles across Wisconsin to support military families and first responders, while focusing on children of fallen service members and disabled veterans.

The US Department of Transportation pulled a $675,000 grant to finish an Illinois bike trail, although grants for similar projects in red states Wyoming and Idaho appear to be moving forward.

Bicycling collisions reached an eight-year high in Michigan last year, with a 42% jump over 2021.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 78-year old New Hampshire man is circumnavigating the state on his bike; he expects to finish in nine days, riding 70 miles a day. Must be a small state.

A DC food delivery worker traded her moped for an ebike in an attempt to appear less obtrusive to ICE agents.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A North Carolina police officer was killed in a traffic collision while ride a bike with his wife, less than a year after joining the force.

That’s more like it. A 30-year old Florida man with a long history of reckless driving and hit-and-runs was sentenced to 30 years behind bars for the high-speed hit-and-run crash that killed a 15-year old boy riding a bicycle; the car’s onboard computer shows he hit the kid at 75 mph without braking.

 

International

Road.cc takes a look at the very first Brompton foldie, on the company’s 50th anniversary.

London bicycle crashes spiked 44% last week as more than 2 million people took their bikes as a result of a strike by subway workers — although that jump amounted to just eight more crashes than usual.

After a British man restored a 1936 French bicycle, he’s riding it back to the home of the original owner to surprise them, while raising money to fight pancreatic cancer.

There’s a special place in hell for any driver who would leave someone in their 80s to die alone in the street, like this bike-riding 80-something Irishman killed by a hit-and-run driver.

A new survey shows 83% of Netherlanders support requiring bike helmets for young ebike riders, though it doesn’t say how young.

Officials in Seoul, South Korea are cracking down on brakeless fixies after the recent death of a teenage bike rider, well over a decade after the brakeless fixie panic in the US.

 

Competitive Cycling

As expected, Jonas Vingegaard won the Vuelta on Sunday, his first Vuelta win after two Tour de France titles; Portugal’s Joao Almeida was second, with Britain’s Tom Pidcock third; Pidcock called his first podium the biggest performance of his career.

However, the final Vuelta stage never completed, as organizers abandoned the stage with nearly 40 miles to go when up to 100,000 pro-Palestinian protesters flooded the streets — and that was after the stage was already shortened by 3.1 miles before the race in anticipation of the protests.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez praised the protesters, calling it a just cause.

The Pro-Palestinian protests extended to Canada’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal, where 200 protesters gathered to protest the Israel-Premier Tech team, but didn’t interfere with the race itself.

Americans took three of the first four spots in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal, with Brandon McNulty edging teammate Tadej Pogačar as they crossed the finish line together; Quinn Simmons was third and Neilson Powless fourth.

South African Alan Hatherly won the men’s world mountain bike championship on Sunday, despite a switch to road cycling for most of the year, and Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds won the women’s championship, in a return to the sport after she fell into severe depression and an eating disorder following her gold in the Rio Olympics.

 

Finally…

If you can’t find a sexy tandem, just learn to build your own. Who needs a little metallic trill when you could have your very own digital bike bell with eight distinct sounds?

And nope, nothing will ever get people to ride bikes.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Someone riding bicycle killed by alleged DUI hit-and-run driver in Carlsbad crash early Saturday morning

September 13, 2025 / / One comment

Someone riding a bicycle was killed in a pre-dawn crash in Carlsbad Saturday.

And while we don’t know anything about the victim, we do have an ID on the alleged drunken coward accused of killing them.

According to multiple reports, the victim was struck by the driver while riding on the 4400 block Carlsbad Blvd, between Tamarack Ave and Cannon Road, around 4:34 am Saturday.

The victim was already dead when police arrived; there’s no word at this time on how the crash occurred.

The driver, identified as 27-year old Escondido resident Alexander Gendron, was tracked down about a mile away, with police relying on witnesses, license plate readers and a drone to find him.

He was booked on suspicion of leaving the scene of a collision resulting in injury or death, DUI causing injury or death, and vehicular manslaughter. That could be upgraded to murder if there is a previous DUI on his record.

There is a painted bike lane on both sides of Carlsbad Blvd, which runs north and south along the beach.

Given the hour, the victim could have been homeless, or someone riding to or from work. Or it could have been someone just out for an early morning ride.

Anyone with information is urged to call Traffic Accident Investigator Cpl. Matt Bowen of the Carlsbad Police Department at 442/339-2282.

This is at least the 41st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

This was also the 13th bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver in Southern California since the first of the year

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

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

WeHo Council to hear Fountain Ave Monday (oops), HLA lawsuit in court today, and Amestoy Ave bridge zoom Monday

September 12, 2025 / / No comments
Day 255 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Today is the anniversary of 2007’s Infamous Beachfront Bee Encounter.

That was when a massive swarm of bees on the beachfront Marvin Braude Bike Trail tried to kill me, sending me to intensive care and four months of medical home confinement. 

And set me on a path to 18 years of bike advocacy, and whatever the hell it is I do now. 

All without a single sting. Go figure. 

It’s worth a read if you don’t know my own origin story. 

Photo of Fountain Ave opponents protesting proposed safety changes by Joe Linton/Streetsblog.

………

Okay, I fucked up.

I wrote yesterday that the West Hollywood City Council would consider the makeover of deadly Fountain Ave at their meeting on Tuesday.

Except the meeting is actually on Monday.

I don’t know where I got the wrong date. But I take full responsibility for the massive fuckup, and for not checking the city’s website to verify the date.

So the good news is you have Tuesday night free, but you’ll have to clear your schedule for Monday. Because opponents of the makeover will undoubtedly come out in force, and we need all the support we can get.

But be prepared for a long night, because Fountain Ave is way down on the agenda at item E.1.

If you can’t attend the meeting in person, you can watch live on WeHoTV via Spectrum Channel 10 if you live in West Hollywood, or on YouTube

Public comments can submitted online through September 15th.

………

The Measure HLA lawsuit over the city’s failure to include the promised bike lanes in the bus lane makeover of the Vermont Ave corridor will be in court today, as Metro tries to shoehorn in.

The lawsuit, by longtime LA bike advocate Joe Linton, was filed against the city for failing to build the bike lanes as required by HLA, since they’re included in the mobility plan already approved by the city.

Although it’s important to note that Linton is acting on his own behalf, and not as a representative of Streetsblog, where he serves, admirably, as Los Angeles editor.

Metro is arguing that they should be included in the lawsuit, since they are funding the project, even though the work is being done on a city street. Their hope is that they can get the case thrown out if they’re named a party to the lawsuit, since Metro is a county agency, and HLA is a city ordinance.

Let’s hope the judge rules against them. But either way, there could still be a settlement that includes more bike and pedestrian elements as part of the makeover.

You can read the actual lawsuit file here.

………

Monday will be a busy day.

In addition to the WeHo Council meeting, the Encino Neighborhood Council’s Traffic and Transportation Committee will host a virtual meeting to consider the fate of the threatened Amestoy Ave pedestrian bridge over the 101 Freeway in Encino.

Caltrans already removed another pedestrian bridge at Encino Ave in 2022, forcing bike riders and pedestrians onto busy thoroughfares and highway underpasses to get from one side of the freeway to the other, which slices across the Valley like an ugly scar.

Removing the Amestoy Ave bridge would make a difficult crossing that much worse for everyone.

………

Speaking of Linton, as we were above, he’s compiling an archive of Measure HLA appeals that have been filed with the Los Angeles Board of Public Works on his personal website, B.I.K.A.S., which stands for Bicycle Infrastructure Knowledge Activism and Safety.

According to Linton, there have been 22 separate HLA appeals that he is aware of, which he has posted here, here and here. Most involve relatively minor issues like missing crosswalks and curb ramps that should have been completed when the streets were resurfaced.

However, Linton himself has filed a four-page appeal over elements that were left out when Los Angeles reconfigured a section of Victory Blvd in the east San Fernando Valley.

The city removed an existing peak-hour travel lane to restore car parking during rush hour. But they skipped the bike lanes included in the mobility plan, even though there’s enough space to add basic painted lanes.

And credit Joe with being enough of a bike-riding man about town that he’s familiar with projects like this in far-flung quadrants all over the city.

If you’re interested in filing your own HLA appeal, Linton also offers complete step-by-step instructions on his website.

……….

The Los Angeles Times The Wild newsletter recommends a pair of bike events this weekend, from Saturday’s World Naked Bike Ride to Sunday’s Historic South Central meets Watts CicLAvia.

Which should pretty much fill your weekend dance card.

1. Bike through Historic South–Central and Watts
Nonprofit CicLAvia will host a free open streets festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday where participants can traverse a 6.25-mile route through Historic South-Central and Watts. Visitors can walk and bike the route or choose any other people-powered means of transport. The route will include music, local food vendors and more. Learn more at ciclavia.org.

2. Bare it all on bikes in L.A.
L.A.’s World Naked Bike Ride will start at 10 a.m. Saturday downtown. Riders can choose from a more challenging ride at 10 a.m. or an easier 9-mile ride at 2 p.m. Participants can skate, scoot, jog or bike in their birthday suits along the ride. Body paint optional! Learn more at the group’s Instagram page.

………

I’m told there are still a few tickets left for Streets Are For Everyone’s 10th Anniversary celebration at The Morrison in Los Feliz, with CD4 Councilmember Nytha Raman as the closing keynote speaker.

However, the deadline to purchase tickets is midnight tonight, so get a move on. Although you’re welcome, along with everyone else, to drop in for the free pre-reception hour from 3 pm to 4 pm, no tickets necessary.

And yes, you’ll see me there along with my wife. Just look for the couple with the corgi (she’s a service dog, so she gets a pass — the corgi, that is, not my wife).

Meanwhile, you just have four days left to get early bird pricing for next month’s Santa Clarita Finish the Ride and Finish the Run, put on by the fundraising arm of SAFE.

The events commemorate founder Damian Kevitt’s inspiring return to finish the ride he had started before a hit-and-run driver nearly took his life.

And no, that driver was never caught.

………

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

No bias here. In a story that reads like it was written by AI, Newsweek says an Idaho altercation began when a bicyclist yelled “Fuck Charlie Kirk,” at a vigil for the murdered conservative activist. Except the person in question was on a scooter, rather than a bicycle, and the video starts with people surrounding and punching him, and doesn’t show the alleged shout.

A London paper lists the city’s worst intersections for bike riders jumping red lights, with the busy Oxford Circus shopping district reaching 50%. Although they don’t bother to offer any reason why, which could have at least something to do with people not feeling safe stopping at the dangerous intersection. 

………

Local 

No news is good news, right?

 

State

A bike thief was busted by Huntington Beach cops when he was spotted two miles away, after police were alerted by quick-acting witness.

 

National

Bicycling examines the surprising causes of hand numbness among bike riders, and what you can do to avoid it. But evidently, they want you to keep those numb fumble fingers, because the story is only available to subscribers. Although what worked for me was moving my hands to different positions on the handlebars, holding the bars less tightly, and putting less weight from my shoulders on them. 

Trek launched new “pro-tested” 3D-printed saddles, promising to eliminate saddle sores, as well as sit bone and soft tissue pain. In other words, no more numb nuts.

A 67-year old Philadelphia man described as a “cyclist’s kind of cyclist,” who built his own bikes, rode safely and carefully, and advocated for safer streets was killed while riding his bike Tuesday when he was struck by one of two drivers traveling at high speeds, on what should have been a quiet street.

A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 15 to 40 years behind bars after pleading guilty but mentally ill to the random shooting of a man riding a bicycle, who he had never met; he reportedly was turned away by both the police and a local hospital when he tried to get help for paranoia caused by issues with mental health and drug addiction, before killing the victim.

Bicyclists in Charlotte, NC are calling for a shift in mindset to make drivers more aware of bike riders on the roads. You know, kinda like people who ride bikes everywhere else.

 

International

A hit-and-run driver in Canada’s Yukon Territory was sentenced to six-and-a-half years behind bars for killing a man riding a bicycle, along with a ten-year driving ban; with credit for time served, he still has five years left on his sentence.

An 80-year old Calgary, Alberta man suffered life-threatening injuries when he tried to stop a man trying to steal his bicycle; the alleged thief pushed him backwards and he fell, striking his head. Seriously, hide a tracking device in your bike, and just let the cops deal with it. Because no bike is worth your life.

A 36-year old soccer player for Mansfield Town in the third-tier English Football League One was named to the roster for the coming year — but only after striker Lucas Atkins is released from prison for killing a 33-year old man riding a bicycle with his $271,000 Mercedes.

British surgeons say ebike injuries are placing a massive burden on the country’s health system. Although once again, they don’t seem to differentiate between ped-assist ebikes and electric motorbikes.

Bike Rumor visits the Zefal plant on the banks of France’s famous Loire River to tour one of the oldest and most affordable accessory manufacturers in the bicycling industry. Speaking of oldest, I remember when nearly everyone had a Zefal pump attached to their steel frame.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website asks why can’t bicyclists do vacation photos like normal people, and stop doing things like leaning your bike up against a landmark, lifting it in the air in front of some tourist attraction, or recording yourself unboxing it at the airport.

 

Competitive Cycling

Once again, a race moto sent multiple cyclists to the hospital when a cop on a motorcycle cut from one side of the road to the other with no warning, knocking riders off their bikes as they sprinted to the finish in stage 3 of the Vuelta a Venezuela, while sending at least one competitor flying over the retaining wall.

Cycling Weekly considers what data-driven road cycling can learn from rough-around-the-edges downhill mountain biking, which they call “cycling’s coolest discipline.”

Velo says a new bike racing format called Stadiobike maybe the answer to the cycling’s perennial problems, by staging bike races in front of fans in grandstands on automotive tracks.

 

Finally…

Your next handmade bespoke steel bike could come from Namibia — with “only” a 15% tariff for now. Nothing like buying your own bike back for just 700 bucks, 25 years after building it for a legendary Olympian.

And who needs a helmet when you’ve got a bird house on your head?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

WeHo Council considers Fountain Ave on Monday, 19-year old man critically injured in Orange, and swrve rises from the dead

September 11, 2025 / / One comment
Day 254 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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WeHo Times offers a reminder that plans to remake Fountain Ave will come before the West Hollywood City Council at 6 pm Monday.

Correction: I originally said the meeting was on Tuesday, rather than Monday. I’m not sure where I got the wrong date, but I take full ownership of the fuckup, and not checking the meeting agenda to get it right.

The project is designed to slow traffic on the deadly corridor by removing one lane in each direction, widening sidewalks and installing curb-protected bike lanes.

Although it comes too late for Blake Ackerman, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver at Fountain and Gardner while riding his bike home from work, and far too many others.

Local residents and pass-through drivers have been fighting this project, and will undoubtedly turn out in force to object to it because it will remove curbside parking on the street, and eliminate what for decades has been a faster alternative to busier boulevards nearby.

Which means we have to respond in kind to demand better safety and a more livable street for everyone.

The paper reports residents who can’t attend the meeting in person can watch live on WeHoTV via Spectrum Channel 10 or YouTube; although I’m not sure if that works for non-residents, as well.

However, public comments can submitted online from September 10th to the 15th.

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Bad news from Orange, where a 19-year old man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was struck by a driver while riding an ebike on Tuesday morning.

The crash occurred at Lewis Street and El Prado Ave; the driver remained at the scene, and police don’t suspect they were under the influence.

The story notes that the victim wasn’t wearing a helmet, which is not required for anyone over 18, and only matters if he suffered a serious head injury, which isn’t mentioned in the article.

Let’s just hope and pray he makes a full and fast recovery.

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Just in time for Halloween, iconic Los Angeles-based bikewear brand swrve is rising from the dead, reopening under new ownership nearly a year after the company, which invented the first bicycling-specific jeans, shut down operations.

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Santa Monica Spoke reports more curb protected bike lanes are going in on Stewart Street.

And doing it quickly, unlike a certain nearby megalopolis we could mention.

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Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette forwards an article about the difficulty of demonstrating brain injuries, and how he worked with legal graphics firm Focus Graphcs to work up illustrations that helped result in a six-figure settlement for a triathlete on the eve of trial.

They’d sure as hell convince me. And evidently, had the same effect on the driver’s insurance company.

Illustrations by Focus Graphics

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We’ve often mentioned that the East Side Riders are far more than just a bike club.

The nonprofit group operates a Watts bicycle co-op, host weekly bike rides, provide a safe, gang-free hangout for local kids, and works as community organizers to help strengthen the community and feed and clothe those in need.

Now they’ve made it even easier for you to throw a few bucks their way. Money that will do more good than most things you could do with it.

So what are you waiting for?

“The happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.

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

You’ve got to be kidding. A Bend, Oregon driver is somehow considering claiming self-defense after getting out of his work truck, and walking back to assault a 16-year old kid — a boy with a cumulative 4.326 grade point average, no less — for the crime of riding two abreast with a friend, which is legal in the state, leaving the kid with $11,000 in medical bills and over $3,700 in damage to his bike; the attack ended after the driver’s young daughter yelled from the truck “Daddy, stop. Don’t do it.” LAPD officers have told me that in California, drivers are considered to have committed assault the moment they get out of their cars to confront someone. 

No bias here. A London magazine says the bicyclist may be a “kindly spirit in the countryside,” but in in the city, “this peaceable phantom has become a bloodthirsty wraith, terrorizing unsuspecting pedestrians, and refusing to follow the laws of man or motorcar.” Just wait until someone tells him about cars, and the careless and aggressively bloodthirsty people who drive them.

An Aussie hit-and-run driver denied deliberately injuring a bike rider, even though dashcam video from a trailing car showed her braking until the victim passed her, then turning her car to crash into him — something her lawyer said was somehow proof she tried to avoid him; meanwhile, she’s awaiting sentencing for intentionally injuring someone else.

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

Sad news from Massachusetts, where a 64-year old man died over a month after he was struck by a rider on a ped-assist ebike in Boston’s Copley Square.

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Local 

Streets For All reminds you to take LADOT’s survey about the new concrete “Toronto barriers” installed on a trial basis on 3rd Street in DTLA.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department is conducting another bicycle and pedestrian safety operation from 5 am to 3 pm on Friday; a press release says they’re focusing on dangerous driver behavior, however, they are legally obligated to enforce the law equally whether you’re on foot, on a bike or in a car. So once again, ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limits. Thanks to David for the heads-up. 

Police in Hermosa Beach used a drone to find a bike theft suspect accused of stealing a bicycle outside a cafe. Thanks to Jim for the link.

 

State

State Senator Scot Wiener’s SB 71 passed both houses of the legislature with just one no vote and moves on to the governor’s desk for his signature; the bill extends provisions of a 2020 bill to streamline the CEQA permitting process for public transit, and bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects to 2040.

Calbike talks with a representative of Upway about what the California Ebike Incentive program got right, and what it got wrong. Although they could have spoken with at least a couple local bike shops participating in the program. Or even a few who didn’t, and ask them what it got wrong. Thanks to Ellectrek for the article. 

Over 200 people are riding 525 miles down the coast of California from San Francisco to Los Angeles for the 25th Arthritis Foundation’s California Coast Classic Bike Tour.

A writer for San Diego’s KPBS considers whether ebikes can make kids more mobile and still keep them safe, and whether the streets are ready for them. Although a lot depends on whether they’re using ped-assist bicycles, or non-street legal electric dirt bikes. 

For once, justice delayed is not justice denied, as a 28-year old San Francisco man was sentenced to 15 years to life for the hit-and-run death of a woman riding a bicycle, with nine years — yes, 9 years — credited for time served as he awaited trial for the 2016 crash; he reportedly brought both sides of the courtroom to tears by taking responsibility for taking the victim’s life.

San Francisco looks at what comes next after the city’s failed Vision Zero program.

 

National

Bicycling lists 12 mistakes to avoid when shopping for a used bike. But you’ll have to subscribe to read it, since it’s only available to people who pay, and it doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else. 

Good Morning America recommends the “best” bikes for every member of the family. None of which actually are, of course, even if some aren’t bad. 

For the thousandth time, no, bicycling does not affect fertility for most men.

Oops. Hawaii’s governor vetoed a bill intended to rein in high-speed electric bikes, after concluding that its prohibition against “high-speed electric devices” could apply to electric motor vehicles, as well.

As many as 2,000 people who participated in, or attended, an Utah high school bike race may have been exposed to measles, and at least four have contracted the disease. Which seems like a good time to mention that vaccination offers near full protection from the disease, which was nearly eradicated until the anti-vax movement took hold. 

A Denver TV station examines why local bike shops won’t service bicycles purchased online, with shops citing safety, parts and liability.

Chicago bike riders are making like Paul Revere to warn the public about ICE agents and inform immigrants of their legal rights.

Boston bicyclists say new speed bumps installed in a local state park are increasing danger on the roadway, rather than lessening it, as unsuspecting bike riders risk getting knocked cold. Apparently, Massachusetts has never heard of cutting channels into speed bumps to give people on bicycles a safe path to ride through, while still slowing motor vehicles.

Where to stay when you’re in need of dog, beer and bike friendly lodgings in Delaware.

A Philadelphia public radio station examines whether the city is still safe for traditional bicyclists and pedestrians, and what can be done to make it safer.

 

International

Life is cheap in London, where a distracted truck driver walked without a day behind bars for killing a woman on a bicycle, after the judge ruled that the victim had contributed to her own death by attempting to pass the truck on the inside — even though the driver forgot to check his mirror because he was distracted by his truck’s center console and was on a hands-free call.

London bikeshare use is spiking as commuters turn to rental ebikes to cope with a subway strike, although the weather isn’t exactly cooperating and some riders say it’s turning bike lanes into mosh pits on wheels.

A writer for The Spectator takes the contrary view to the common complaints against bikeshare ebikes, calling them “unquestionably, the best thing that has happened to London in my lifetime;” and adding that if you think they’re dangerous, cars are worse.

Here’s a warning from an English nurse and father of three, who thought his persistent back pain was due to bicycling, until he finally saw a doctor and discovered he was suffering from stage 4 prostate cancer.

Two 26-year old men rode their bikes over 4,500 miles from their home in Ireland to Singapore, to help one of them cope with the death of his father from a brain tumor; not only were they inexperienced, but one of the men didn’t even own a bike before they set off.

 

Competitive Cycling

Once again, Tuesday’s stage 16 of the Vuelta was shortened when pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the race with 3 km, or 1.8 miles, to go; Spain will take “extraordinary measures” to prevent further protest disruptions on the final two stages in the Madrid region.

Wednesday’s stage 17 went off without disruptions, as Jonas Vingegaard maintained a 50-second lead over second place João Almeida.

Dutch cyclist Puck Pieterse says bike racing may be serious business, but you can still have fun, as Cycling Weekly calls her the sport’s “most exciting multi-discipline talent.”

 

Finally…

Your next non-folding e-foldie could fold anyway. The Mounties always get their man — even if he’s just riding without a helmet.

And nothing like riding the length of the UK on a homemade wooden bike as a protest “against a world made of plastic and steel.”

And yes, that includes DIY wooden wheels.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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