November 30, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Bike-riding man killed in Harbor Gateway hit-and-run; 18th fatal bicycling hit-and-run in Southern California this year
Once again, a man on a bike has been killed by a Southern California driver, this time in LA’s Harbor Gateway neighborhood.
And once again, a heartless coward fled the scene, leaving his victim to die in the street.
The 39-year old bike rider, who has not been publicly identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.
His killer apparently fled without stopping. There’s no description of the driver or the suspect vehicle; given the location and early morning hour, there may not have been any witnesses.
Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD South Traffic Division at 323/421-2500 or 323/421-2577. As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
This is at least the 59th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. It’s also at least the 7th bicycling death in the City of Los Angeles since the first of the year.
Eighteen of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
After just three days, donations are already running well above last year’s record-setting pace!
So let’s keep it up! Your contribution will help fund this site until our sponsors renew in the spring, and ensure SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy keeps coming your way every day.
Thanks to Janice H, Michael S, Robert K, Kim D, Daniel F, Arthur B, Mark J, Joseph B, Andrew G, Theodore F, Megan L, Steven S, Elizabeth T, Jonathan P, Douglas M, Amy S, and Jamie S for their generous donations.
And that’s in addition to Robert L, Eric L, David V, Mitchell G, and Olivia K, who donated even before the official start of the fund drive on Friday.
Police are looking for a light-colored, older model Chevrolet Suburban or Tahoe; unfortunately, there’s no description of the driver.
Mendoza is at least the 17th person killed riding a bicycle in San Diego County already this year, perhaps three or four times more than in most years.
A New Jersey police officer is accused of fatally striking a pedestrian, taking the man’s body home to discuss what to do, and then returning to the scene with the dead man in his back seat, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
They on on to explain the off-duty cop and his passenger fled the scene without bothering to aid the victim or call for help.
Then this.
They reportedly went back to the scene multiple times before they put Dymka into the Honda Accord. They then went to Santiago’s home, where he, Guzman and Santiago’s mother, Annette Santiago, discussed what to do, Stephens’ office said.
Louis Santiago eventually went back to the scene, and his father, who is a Newark police lieutenant, called 911, officials said.
New Jersey State Police arrived and found Dymka dead in the back seat, the prosecutor’s office said.
Did we mention that he’s a cop?
Yet apparently, despite his training, he still had no idea what to do after killing someone with his car.
At least this time, there should be consequences. The killer cop faces charges including reckless vehicular homicide, desecrating human remains, and official misconduct, along with a raft of other counts.
Meanwhile, his mom and passenger are both charged with conspiracy to desecrate human remains and hindering apprehension, among other varied and assorted crimes.
No word on whether the cop and his passenger were drunk or stoned. But you’d sure as hell hope no sober person would do that.
Aloisi and her daughters were walking across the parking lot after brunch, they said, when a vehicle approached them fast before the driver abruptly stopped.
The driver, a man, waved his arms at them and appeared to be yelling, they said, though his windows were closed. The women waved their arms and yelled back at him. Aloisi has a leg problem that prevents her from walking fast after sitting for a length of time, she said…
“He zoomed into that back parking spot, jumped out of his car, threw his hands up in the air and screamed ‘Just f—ing walk’ at us,” Nicole Whitted said.
They tried explaining that their mother can’t walk fast, but the cop continued advancing towards them, before allegedly chest bumping one of the women and angrily taking her to the ground.
He then took the 62-year old mother to the ground as well, holding her down with an arm across her throat while pinning her daughter down with his knee, shades of Derek Chauvin.
Only the intervention of a bystander ended the ugly confrontation after their attacker identified himself, for the first time, as a cop.
Yet only the daughter he allegedly chest bumped was cited for misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Meanwhile, the alleged road raging attacker denied everything and placed all the blame on the three women, apparently getting off with a pat on the back.
And shamefully, did it all with his family waiting and watching in his car.
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Some things are just wrong. And others are wrong as hell.
I mean, it’s not like those guys went on to do anything important or anything.
As justification, the city bizarrely cited the Florida condo collapse, somehow seriously equating the dangers of the collapse of an occupied 12-story building with the possible fall of the long-vacant two-story shop.
Apparently, irreplaceable historic sites must be a dime a dozen around there. Because they don’t seem to give a damn about this one.
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Metro Bike is offering a pair of specials for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
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Sign up for a 30-Day Pass online at metro.net/bikeshare. Valid Thursday, 11/25/2021 – Monday, 11/29/2021.
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USE PROMO CODE: CYBERMONDAY21 $75 for a 365-Day Metro Bike Share Pass (Regular Price: $150)
Sign up 365-Day Pass online at metro.net/bikeshare. Valid Monday, 11/29/2021 only.
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Zachary Rynew reports progress on an extension of the San Fernando Road Bike Path, but notes there’s still work to be done.
Twitter post
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Apparently, there wasn’t a lot of bikewashing at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year, unlike last year when ebikes made a splash. David Drexler forwards this photo of a Shinola bike, noting it’s the only bicycle he saw at the show this year.
Except for all of the mountain bikes used as props on the backs of SUVs, of course.
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Our German correspondent, Ralph Durham, forwards a photo showing how bike lane detours are handled in a country where bikes, and the people on them, actually matter.
I’m sending you a picture of a short Bike and ped detour in Munich.
This is at the corner of Ludwigsbrucke (over the Isar river) and Steindorfstrasse. It is a major intersection. the bikes heading north and south have a direct path under the bridge and can avoid the issue. If you need to turn onto the bridge or off the bridge you will hit this. This bike path has a counter and records hundreds of thousands of trip per year.
The road is 2 lanes in each direction and there is work being done that directly impacts the pedestrian walkway and the 2 way bike path. So they shut down the two northbound car lanes and retriped for bikes and pedestrians to get around the construction.
A lot of care is put into allowing bikes and pedestrians to avoid direct interaction with motor vehicles when construction impacts roads and sidewalks.
Compare and contrast that with how your town handles it.
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Remember this next time you have to lock your bike up to a street sign or parking meter.
Twitter post
Thanks to Keith Johnson for the heads-up.
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Over the long weekend, I received an email from a British man, asking me to mention the new foldie developed by his San Francisco brother-in-law — the first folding bike where the wheels fold, too.
So if you’re in the market for a $1,300 bike that really folds, this is your chance.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. In an interminably long screed, San Diego’s bike-hating OB Rag accuses “extreme” bicyclists of holding sway over area planners for demanding crazy things like stop signs to slow speeding drivers, and not wanting to get killed when they ride.
An unlicensed Aussie driver was finally sentenced to a decade behind bars after repeatedly bragging to people for nearly ten years about the night she chased down and killed a Hong Kong man who was just riding his bike home from work, after he allegedly flipped her off, getting more racist with each retelling.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Streets For All urges you to contact the city council to support completion of the Expo Line bike path by closing the absurd Northvale Gap, which was skipped to appease homeowners on the afore mentioned Northvale Road, who worried criminals would ride their bikes into the neighborhood to steal their stuff. No, really.
Streets For All is also calling on everyone to support a Metro board motion scheduled for Thursday to provide an additional $2 million in open streets funding; current funding allows funding of just less than half of the 27 open streets proposals from around the county.
The massive new Burbank bridge finally opened after 20 months of construction, featuring bike lanes on either side, but only a single sidewalk on the south side of the bridge. Evidently, they couldn’t squeeze in another sidewalk because the needed to make room for three traffic lanes and a freeway onramp lane in each direction.
In yet another example of keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, a “groundbreaking” Florida neurosurgeon faces a vehicular homicide charge for killing a bike-riding triathlete while driving on the wrong side of the road at over four times the posted 20 mph speed limit in a borrowed Tesla; he’s been ticketed at least three times for speeding in the past five years, at speeds up to 112 mph.
November 26, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on It’s the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! Donate today!
Donate now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.
It’s that time of year again.
No, not the holiday season, which seems to start around Halloween these days.
It’s that wonderful time of year when, just like that guy with the red kettle front of the market, we shamelessly, beg, plead and/or cajole you for your hard-earned cash.
But without all the bells.
I could give you a sob story about how tough this past year has been with my wife and I both out of work. Or what a challenge it’s been to keep this site up on a daily basis as my own body seems determined to kill me.
But hey, we’ve all got problems.
Instead, I’ll ask you one simple question.
Do you enjoy getting all the best bike news on your favorite screen every morning? Or almost every morning, anyway.
And if so, how much?
Okay, so that’s two questions.
The simple fact is, it takes hours every day to scour the internet for news sites, from around the corner and around the world, to find all the latest news from the wild, wonderful and sometimes wacky world of bicycles.
And hours more to present it to you as clearly and succinctly as possible, to help keep you on top of everything you need to know in just a few minutes each day.
Well, almost everything.
Trust me, there are some things you just don’t want to know.
So what’s that worth to you?
I count on your donations to get through the usual dry spell before our sponsors start to renew each spring, assuming they do. Not to mention keep our spokesdog in kibble until things turn around.
But if you can’t afford to give, don’t worry about it. Everyone is welcome here, no questions asked.
Or if you can only afford to give a little, believe me, any amount is deeply appreciated, no matter how large or small. I know how hard it can be when you’re struggling to get by.
Or I may have to start ringing that damn bell on here.
And trust me, I have one.
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Special thanks to Robert L, Eric L, David V, Mitchell G and Olivia K for their generous donations to the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive, even before we officially kicked things off this morning!
November 26, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Update: San Diego man murdered by hit-and-run driver in possible intentional crash while riding bicycle in Otay Mesa
The driver fled the scene without stopping. Police are looking for an older model Chevrolet Suburban or Tahoe; there’s no description available on who was behind the wheel.
There’s also no word on how the crash occurred, or why police determined it was deliberate, although people at the recreation center may have seen the crash.
Every hit-and-run driver who kills someone should face a murder charge. This one actually might, if police can find them.
Anyone with information is urged to call San Diego’s Homicide Unit at 619/531-2293.
This is at least the 58th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 17th that I’m aware of in San Diego County, which is experiencing by far the bloodiest year in recent memory.
It’s also the second bike rider intentionally murdered by a driver in San Diego in just the last two months.
A photo from the scene suggests why investigators initially suspected homicide, as muddy tire tracks suggest Mendoza’s killer jumped the curb and drove across the grass field to chase him down.
Just take a few minutes to practice an attitude of gratitude, and find something to give thanks for. Even if it’s just making it through another year in these trying times.
And if you can take a break from stuffing yourself with stuffing, find some time to get out for a bike ride. Take it from me, there are few better days to ride, as long as you make it back before all those drivers high on tryptophan start crawling back home.
Then come back on Friday, when we’ll officially kick off the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive, and I shamelessly beg for your hard-earned money to help keep this site coming your way every day.
We’ll be back on Monday with more Morning Links to catch up on anything we missed. And of course, we’ll be here over the weekend if there’s any breaking news.
And yes, that’s the royal “we,” unless you count our intern and spokesdog up there on the left.
Now stay safe, and enjoy the ride. I want to see you back here next week.
And that’s on top of the usual benefits like reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality.
Investment in cycleways was one of the best ways of creating jobs through infrastructure spend, more than any other infrastructure project aside from energy efficiency in buildings, reported the TUC’s 2020 study. Thirty-three jobs are created for every $1.4 million invested in walking or cycling infrastructure over a two-year period, found the TUC.
The Bicycle Association’s 32-page report claims that increasing cycling’s modal share to 14% is “realizable” because net-zero ambitions will require a shift from private motor car use to other means, including cycling.
There’s absolutely no reason to believe the same wouldn’t hold true in Los Angeles, or most other major cities. And it should be easier to realize that kind of increase in Los Angeles, with its temperate climate and mostly flat terrain.
All that’s missing is the political will and financial investment to make it happen.
So what the hell are we waiting for?
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This is the cost of traffic violence.
If it’s true about that which does not kill you, one LA bicyclist is going to be pretty damn strong once she gets back on her feet.
Then again, it sounds like she already is.
A reader named Mitchell reached out to me yesterday to ask if I’d heard about Peta Takai, a master’s road and gravel cyclist who was critically injured in a collision while riding on PCH last September.
Apparently, she was riding near La Costa Beach in Malibu when a kid driving the family Range Rover made an illegal U-turn and slammed into her.
As she notes, she has a very long road ahead of her to get her life back, let alone get back on her bike some day.
A crowdfunding page has raised $28,100, easily topping the low $20,000 goal. But given the extent of her injuries, and the months, if not years, of rehab that will be required, that’s likely just a fraction of what she’s going to need.
So if you’ve got a few extra bucks, send them her way. And tell your friends to do the same.
And maybe remember her on Giving Tuesday next week.
Thanks to Mitchell for the heads-up, and hats off to Giant Santa Monica, which I’m told helped raise funds for her.
And you can make that crowdfunding total $28,120 now.
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Maybe we’ll see some decent bike parking at the Arboretum soon.
Fingers crossed.
Twitter post
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge is about to get a 15 mph speed limit for bike riders, with fines ranging from $238 to $490 for anyone caught speeding. The question is whether the limit will be enforceable against riders without a cycling computer or speedometer, who would have no way of knowing they’re exceeding it — especially since there is no statutory requirement to have one on your bike.
Smaller communities are getting creative to promote ebike use, including Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley, which uses a pair of freestanding solar-powered bikeshare docks to recharge the bikes. They also have a pretty damn good trout stream, too.
November 23, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 46-year old man riding bicycle dies one day after Hesperia collision
This is not the news we wanted just before Thanksgiving.
The Victorville Daily Press reports that a man has died, one day after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike in Hesperia.
According to sheriff’s investigators, the victim, identified only as a 46-year old Hesperia resident, was trying to cross Main Street at G Avenue when he was run down around 7:34 pm Sunday.
He died Monday, after being flown to a trauma center.
The victim was riding north on G when he allegedly rode out into the street in front of the driver of a Chevrolet Suburban traveling west on Main. There’s no word on who had the right-of-way.
However, given the size and high, flat grill of the massive SUV, a collision at any speed would be difficult to survive.
Any witnesses are urged to call Deputy D. Holland at the Hesperia Sheriff’s Station at 760/947-1500.
This is at least the 57th 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 the victim and his loved ones.
We’ve mentioned this one before, but it’s worth mentioning again, since wheels are the biggest size limitation for folding bicycles. And with just one day left to go, 
The simple fact is, it takes hours every day to scour the internet for news sites, from around the corner and around the world, to find all the latest news from the wild, wonderful and sometimes wacky world of bicycles.
But 
