Trek says it’s time to take a break from driving to the market and building picnic tables for squirrels, and buy an ebike.
No, seriously, it’s worth watching.
You might get the best smile you’ll have all day.
………
This is who we used to share the road with.
Sadly, some things never change.
Twitter post
………
NACTO celebrates Black History Month by sharing a tweet from last year about a little-known Black inventor who helped make all those kids and adult trikes possible.
Spokane WA bike riders say winter riding isn’t for the faint of heart, especially with the city’s lack of good infrastructure. Something LA bike riders can relate to, where the bike network sucks and winter daytime temperatures sometimes drop all the way to the 60s. Brrrrrrr.
In yet another case of authorities keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, a two-time hit-and-run driver in Florida made it three when he was arrested for leaving the scene after killing a bike rider nearly a year ago — then deliberately crashed his truck again to hide the damage from the hit-and-run.
International
Proving once again it’s not just an American problem, English police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who t-boned a bike-riding woman in her 50s, in a crash caught on a cringeworthy security cam video. As usual with stories like this, be sure you really want to see it before you click on the video, because you can’t unsee it.
February 1, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 2nd driver charged in double hit-and-run death of two young brothers, and US bike deaths may have dropped in 2020
One quick note before we get started.
Almost a year ago, just before the world went to hell, the LA Times did a story about the foster corgi we took in to help a homeless man get back on his feet.
This weekend they did a followup story, with an update how man and dog are doing and the ripple effect it had on everyone, my wife and I included.
Along with the corgi puppy we adopted last summer.
Eleven-year old Mark Iskander and his eight-year old brother Jacob were crossing the street with their parents in a marked and well-lighted crosswalk when they were run down, one on his bicycle and the other on a scooter.
It easily could have been worse. Their parents were able to jump back with the boys’ younger siblings at the last second, barely sparing the family from being wiped out entirely.
And yet the 51-year old Erickson, who had a one-year stint with the Dodgers, faces a single lousy count of misdemeanor reckless driving.
Did I mention that both drivers are in their 50s, and should have effing known better?
Maybe prosecutors can explain their charging decision in this one, because it doesn’t make a damn bit of sense to me.
………
The good news is bicycling deaths may — repeat, may — have dropped last year, from an obscene 857 in 2018, and 846 in 2019, to 697 last year.
Or rather, all the deaths they’re aware of; there are undoubtedly more that never crossed their radar, for whatever reason.
Of those, slightly more than 80% were men, and over a quarter of the victims were killed in hit-and-runs.
No surprise on either count. Especially not the latter, which tracks very closely with what we’ve seen here in Southern California.
And sadly, no surprise that far too many of those deaths occurred here in California.
Louisiana, New York, California, Florida, and Texas were the five deadliest states for cyclists in terms of total fatalities. The latter three have been the most deadly states for cyclists for years, and New York’s fatalities have been on the rise as well—in 2019, it reported 46 cyclist deaths, with 29 in New York City alone. While these three states are also the most populous in the country, Florida and California have among the most cycling deaths per million people, as well. And Louisiana recorded 7.3 cycling deaths per million people, the most of any state. Louisiana’s total fatal crash numbers have remained in the twenties and thirties for the past five years, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
No surprise that those deaths may have been driven in part by last year’s bike boom, either.
Though it’s too early to be certain, the cycling boom that took place after the COVID-19 lockdown orders may have contributed to the summer death rate. From January through November, $4.9 billion worth of bikes were sold in the U.S., according to the NPD Group. In Los Angelesand Houston alone, Strava found approximately a 100 percent increase in cycling trips in both cities in May 2020 compared to May 2019. More cyclists on the road seemed to correlate with more people on bikes being killed by drivers.
You’ve got to be kidding. Life is cheap in the UK, where a road raging driver was fined the equivalent of a lousy $549 for a fist-shaking punishment pass that caused a 68-year old man to fall off his bike, suffering life-changing injuries. But hey, at least he won’t be able to drive for a whole six months.
But sometimes, it’s the person on two wheels behaving badly.
Carlsbad police busted a suspected drunken hit-and-run driver who ran down a bike-riding woman from Arizona; at last report, the 65-year old woman was unconscious with serious injuries.
He gets it. A Salt Lake City columnist says bike riders have a right to be safe in traffic. And that’s why he supports a bill that would legalize the Idaho Stop in Utah, even if people on bicycles will still have to be alert, because too many drivers aren’t.
No bias here. Florida cops fall over themselves to absolve a killer hit-and-run driver of responsibility, saying he knew he hit something, but didn’t know it was a person on a bicycle. Because apparently, it’s just too much to expect someone to get out of his car to see what the hell he hit hard enough to cause front end damage.
More on the British man who responded to the death of his brother and a diagnosis of stage 4 cancer by riding from the UK to Beijing on a tandem, sharing the other seat with people he met along the way.
I want to be like him when I grow up. After getting tired of people laughing at him, an 83-year old Pakistani man rode his bike over 1,100 miles to prove age is just a number; he’s been riding since buying his first bicycle 66 years ago.
An enterprising 15-year old Indian boy is too young to legally ride a Vespa-style scooter, so he turned his bicycle into one.
Fortune favored the Dutch in this year’s cyclocross worlds, as 31-year old Lucinda Brand and 26-year old Mathieu Van der Poel took the women’s and men’s elite titles. Riders from the Netherlands took four of the top five places in the women’s race, and two of the top five on the men’s side; the only American to finish in the top five in either race was Clara Honsinger, who placed 4th in the women’s race.
Robert Karwasky forwards a photo of a dangerous situation on the LA River bike path, just north of the Colorado Street overpass, as a collapsing fence post juts out over the pathway.
Here’s how he describes the problem —
It poses a risk for very serious injury and when traveling south on the path at dusk or night, in blends in with the tunnel and is very difficult to see.
The problem comes in figuring out just who’s responsible for fixing it.
It could be the City of Los Angeles, or maybe Glendale; it could be LA County or Caltrans. Or whoever the property owner is whose fence is collapsing.
If anyone knows, let me know so we can get this fixed before someone gets hurt.
Or if you know someone who already got hurt there, I know some damn good lawyers over there on the right.
An op-ed from a former San Diego bike commuter says bicycling rates are remaining flat, despite the city’s investment in a quality bike network. And offers suggestions on how to change that, including a call to subsidize ebikes for commuters.
The Chicago Tribuneoffers advice on how to bike in the snow. A skill you’re not likely to need here in Southern California; how to ride with pontoons may be more appropriate today.
The mother of a New York State teenager is suing the owner of the car that killed her daughter, alleging he loaned it to the drunk driver who swerved into a bike lane and struck the girl as she rode her bicycle; the driver was sentenced to a well-deserved five to fifteen years behind bars.
January 28, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Driver identified in Portland rampage that left 1 dead and 10 injured, and AAA says it’s crash not accident
Sixty-four-year old Paul Rivas pled not guilty to 14 felony counts in the 15-block rampage, including second degree murder and multiple assault and hit-and-run charges.
Unbelievably — literally — he had shifting explanations for why he intentionally ran down so many people, most of whom were walking or riding bicycles.
Rivas initially claimed his Honda Element was having brake problems and that he was searching for an auto repair shop.
Other times, he suggested the injuries could have been inflicted by “another, similar looking” Honda car, not his; and he admitted at one point to striking a bicyclist but characterized the collision as an “emergency maneuver” he made to avoid a more serious crash with oncoming traffic, Multnomah County prosecutor Sean P. Hughey wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
This despite running down the elderly woman as she was crossing the street, then making a U-turn and slamming into her again, dragging her to her death under his SUV.
Yeah, sounds like bad brakes, all right.
The descriptions of his attacks are simply horrific.
Donald Hinson was riding his bicycle on Southeast 18th Avenue when the Honda “drove straight at him without slowing,” sending him and his bicycle onto the hood of the Honda. He fell onto the street and suffered injuries to his leg and a cut to his nose, the affidavit said…
Raymond Chihak said he was on the sidewalk near Southeast 19th Avenue and Stark when he heard screaming. That’s when he noticed the Honda speeding directly toward him. It struck him as he stood on the sidewalk, he said, then sped off, according to the affidavit. Chihak also was treated for his injuries at a hospital.
Bicyclist Juan Caicedo-Gomez was riding in the bike lane on Southeast Belmont Street when the Honda swerved into the lane and hit him from behind, throwing him off his bicycle, according to police.
Pedestrian Faviola Palomera said she was walking in Laurelhurst Park and saw the Honda doing U-turns nearby. “The next thing she knew she woke up in the hospital,” with a head injury after she had been knocked unconscious when the Honda was seen driving out of the park and struck her while walking, according to her statement to police and a witness’ account, the affidavit said.
Yet those are just a few of the victims who were lucky enough to survive.
After repeated denials, Rivas finally admitted to detectives that he was the one behind the wheel of the killer SUV.
According to police, he denied drug or alcohol use and did not appear to be under the influence, leading them to suspect he suffered from some sort of mental illness or physical ailment.
Let’s hope it’s enough to keep him off the road for the rest of his life.
Photo by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. Thanks to Megan Lynch for forwarding the tweet.
Your periodic reminder that being one of the greatest cyclists of all time wasn’t even close to the most important accomplishment of Gino Bartali’s life.
Twitter post
Bartali is credited with saving dozens, if not hundreds, of Jews during WWII as he transported forged documents hidden in the frame of his bike.
………
But at least you can tell the cop it was gluten free.
That other chill you feel is formerly auto-centric Caltrans asking for your input on creating long-distance carfree bicycle highways in the Bay Area. Now if they could just get around to it down here in SoCal, where the weather is usually more conducive to year-round riding.
Speaking of Calbike, the statewide bike advocacy organization sings the praises of Quick-Build Projects, saying it’s more equitable to vet a project on the ground than on paper. It also sidesteps the endless series of angry meetings that allow NIMBYs to kill much-needed safety improvements simply by showing up and screaming en masse.
It looks like former USA Cycling Team member, Orange County attorney and frequent BikinginLA contributor David Huntsman’s son is following in his dad’s tread tracks, as Eddy Huntsman joins three other new riders on the Continental Tour Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycling Team. Thanks to proud papa David for the heads-up.
January 27, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Hermosa Beach shrinks streets for popup bike lanes, search for bike-riding WeHo rapist, and a bike lane trash dump
Looks like the new router is up and working, and so am I.
The suspect is described as a white or Latino male in his early 30s with short black hair and brown eyes. He is 5’7” to 5’11” with a normal build and slight gut. He has a tattoo of some sort on his right arm.
He was wearing black t-shirt and dark blue jeans when last seen.
He left on a black hybrid bike with medium sized tires.
Anyone with information is urged to call sheriff’s deputies at 310/855-8850.
………
What’s a bike lane when it’s not a bike lane?
A trash dump.
Instagram post
………
Nothing like a painfully close pass in the London snow.
Twitter post
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes keeps on going.
No bias here. Britain’s Daily News complains about “bungling” city councils wasting the equivalent of a relatively paltry $1.4 million dollars installing bike lanes that were later ripped out to appease angry motorists. Evidently forgetting that’s exactly the purpose behind popup bike lanes, allowing cities to install relatively low-cost infrastructure that can be easily removed if it doesn’t work out. Or if entitled drivers scream loud and long enough.
If you lost a bike in Ventura County recently, you may be in luck. Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies busted a pair of men in Fillmore while serving a warrant last week, and discovered several bikes believed to be stolen.
A Minnesota woman embraces her inner Viking, and commits to riding every day this month, including in the snow. Which is seldom a problem here in sunny Southern California, even if it feels like it right now.
Boston rips out a curb-protected bike lane, replacing concrete with flimsy plastic bendy posts. Which will put the city on the hook if anyone is injured or killed there with the now-negligible protection.
A whopping 68% of New Yorkers support building more protected bike lanes in their own neighborhoods, while 56% support swapping parking spaces for protected bus lanes. Someone really needs to conduct a similar survey in Los Angeles, where decisions are usually based on who screams the loudest.
A new fat tired ebike from Sweden’s Cake is part cargo bike, part mobile utility bench. Although as far as I’m concerned, if it doesn’t have pedals, it’s not a bicycle, electric or otherwise.
Canyon Bicycles is raffling off a complete Ultimate CF SLX bike to benefit the nation’s first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) cycling team, at North Carolina’s St. Augustine’s University.
I’ve been struggling with a bad internet connection all night, thanks to a rapidly failing router.
So I’m going to post this while I still have a connection, and we’ll catch up with the rest of the news tomorrow after I — hopefully — get this damn thing replaced.
………
Horrific story from Portland, where a driver careened down more than 12 city blocks, intentionally slamming into everyone in sight.
Tyler Meyer, 30, said hesaw the SUVswerve into his lane on BelmontStreet, then strike a cyclist as he turned sharply onto 30th Avenue. Meyer said the suspect, who was speeding and running red lights, then clipped a pedestrian at StarkStreet and 15th Avenue, did a U-turn and smashed into two people who becamewedged between the SUV and a retaining wall at Stark and 19th Avenue. The driver then ran into an elderly woman on 19th, before doubling back and striking another pedestrian, Meyer said.
Twitter post
One woman in her 70s was killed, while five other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Larry Wolfe said he had an appointment to meet the person who was killed, a woman in her 70s, at the corner of Washington Street and 19th Avenue. Wolfe told The Oregonian/OregonLive he saw the woman get hit by a car and scream. He said he started walking toward her, then saw the car come back and hit her again. The car then did a U-turn and dragged the woman for some time, Wolfe said.
The male driver attempted to flee on foot after crashing his SUV, but was soon corralled by bystanders who kept him from leaving until police could wrestle him to the ground.
Meyer said he also watched the driver run into the El Camino. He said the man attempted to fight bystanders and threw potted plants from nearby homes.
“I told him, ‘I think you just killed a lady up the street,’” Meyer said. “He laughed and said, ‘Ah, that’s too bad.’”
There’s no word yet on whether this was a terrorist attack, a case of mental illness or if there was some other reason for his murderous attack.
But it serves as yet another reminder that we trust anyone who can pass a simple test with operating a two-ton weapon capable of inflicting mass casualties.
While Los Angeles is stuck in reverse, Pomona and Claremont are moving forward to improve safety for everyone.
And holding on to some of that water we’ll be flushing out to sea this week.
Twitter post
………
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Marin horseback rider complains about “irresponsible aggressive mountain bikers…fueled by a combination of righteousness, adrenaline and anger” after a woman was seriously injured when she was apparently thrown off her horse in some sort of conflict a mountain biker.
Santa Rosa is proposing a redesign of a killer roadway, improving crosswalks and adding new bike paths and curb extensions to a half mile stretch where three people on foot or bicycles were killed in a single week in 2018. Which raises the question of what the hell were they waiting for? Something like that should have fixed within months, not years.
National
Bicyclingpicks up a paywalled story from Popular Mechanics — which is also available on Yahoo in case Bicycling’s paywall blocks you out— about how riding a backward bike, which goes left when you turn right and vice versa, will break your mind. So seriously, what’s the point of all those paywalls if you can get it for free, anyway?
The sponsor of Virginia’s wide-ranging bicycle safety bill says it should pass easily, saying he doesn’t expect any opposition to allowing bike riders to treat stops as yields, and requiring drivers to change lanes to pass someone on a bicycle. Evidently Virginia’s AAA and state police don’t have their heads so far up their don’t have the windshield bias of their California counterparts.
