Writer and adventurer Roy Wallack killed in mountain bike crash in Santa Monica Mountains Saturday morning

December 20, 2020 / / One comment

Roy Wallack wrote that bicycling would help you live to be 100.

Sadly, he didn’t make it.

The Irvine resident, author of Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100, was just 64 year old when he died following a crash on the Guadalasca Trail in Pt. Magu State Park Saturday morning.

According to the Ventura County Star, Wallack was riding with friends on the difficult trail when he fell around 9:20 am, although he had not been publicly identified yet in the original story.

The crash took place on the Guadalasca Trail, he said, which cuts through steep, technical terrain near the Backbone Trail. The cyclist, a man in his 60s, had reportedly been riding with friends when he crashed his bike and lost consciousness, Worthy said. The cyclist’s city of residence was not immediately known Saturday.

The man’s friends called for emergency medical assistance and performed CPR until the sheriff’s helicopter arrived with paramedics and a flight nurse. The crew continued life-saving measures but the cyclist did not survive and was pronounced dead at the scene, Worthy said.

And yes, he was wearing a helmet.

A former columnist for the LA Times, Wallack was a prolific writer, according to the Star.

Wallack was a health and fitness journalist who had penned stories and columns for publications including The Los Angeles Times, magazines including Outside, Bicycling and Men’s Journal, and had authored a book, “Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100…and Beyond,” according to his online profile on Twitter and on his Muck Rack page. His most recent tweet from Nov. 17 links to an LA Times story offering tips on buying and selling fitness gear during the coronavirus pandemic.

A Google search shows he’s the author of at least eight other fitness books.

The Times describes Wallack as a avid hiker, runner and bicyclist who took part in the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, as well as the 750-mile Paris-Brest-Paris bike tour.

Wallack’s work for The Times spanned barre classes, triathlons, kayaking, the L.A. Marathon and more. He penned a gear column for many years, keeping fitness fans in the loop about the hottest must-haves.

He began a 2016 piece: “Hiking the Grand Canyon was not on my bucket list. A marathon, yes. Bike 200 miles in a day, yes. Ironman triathlon, absolutely. But for some reason, a mere day hike, even in one of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders, was never on my radar.”

Wallack ended up being won over by the 15-mile trek, describing it as “an otherworldly journey into a land before time” and “a true bucket-list adventure.”

The paper also describes his efforts to keep his 84-year old father active, despite being housebound by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The paper reports that he recently finished one last book, about Richard Long, the founder of GT Bicycles, who was killed in a collision with a truck while riding his motorcycle to a bike race in Big Bear in 1994.

Tributes were beginning to pour in as word of his death began to spread Sunday evening.

Twitter post

Twitter post

This is at least the 66th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

My deepest condolences and prayers for Roy Wallack and all his loved ones. 

Thanks to Zachary Rynew and Mike Burk for the heads-up.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Guest post: Inattentional Blindness & Conspicuity

December 18, 2020 / / One comment

Originally, I had expected to be laid up today following carpal tunnel surgery. 

So when Phillip Young sent me the following piece, I thought it would make a perfect guest post for today when I wouldn’t be able to write. 

But now that my surgery has been cancelled due to the surge in Covid-19 cases, I want to share it with you anyway. 

Because it could help you be seen. And that could make all the difference on your next ride.

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Good info that may save your life about what car drivers actually see especially inconsequential bicyclists and motorcyclists.

Before I read it I too couldn’t understand how drivers don’t see cyclists, often cyclists in bright clothing during daylight.  After all, I know I saw them. Our brethren Down Under have a term…SMIDSY (Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See Ya). Or you hear about drivers who say “the cyclist came out of nowhere.”  I remember thinking drivers say this stuff as an excuse because they were texting or something.

But this article by Marc Greek Ph.D. explains the difference between sensory conspicuity and cognitive conspicuity, and how they’re both important for us to notice something. It talks about looking at something and not seeing it, and why.  And most important to cycling safety, or the thing that made the biggest revelation for me, is the importance of the role that relevance plays in cognitive conspicuity. In short, the more relevant something is to us for some reason, the more likely we are to notice it, and vice-versa.

First of all, this explains why we cyclists are better at noticing cyclists when we are driving than are drivers who are not cyclists. Cyclists are inherently interesting to us.  Do we know them? What are they riding? What are they wearing? What are they doing? Would we do that? These are all questions we cyclists are likely to ask ourselves about any randomly-encountered cyclist that non-cyclist drivers would never ask and couldn’t care less about. This makes any cyclists in our visual space relevant to us and therefore likely for us to notice. For non-cyclist drivers there has to be more for the cyclist to be relevant to them and therefore for them to be likely to take notice.

Secondly, I think it explains why cyclists are generally noticed and treated better in places where 80% of drivers also regularly ride bikes than here where it’s like 2%.

Most importantly it explains why drivers often don’t notice cyclists as they pass them.  Consider:

  • The less relevant the cyclist is to the overtaking motorist the more likely the motorist is to not notice the cyclist.
  • Compared to a cyclist using the full lane and “in their way,” edge riding in a travel lane makes a cyclist easier to pass and, so, less relevant and more likely to be overlooked to approaching motorists
  • Riding in a traditional striped class 2 bike lane makes a cyclist even easier to pass and less relevant and therefore even more likely to be overlooked than a cyclist edge riding in a travel lane.
  • Riding in a class 2 bikeway separated from the travel lane by physical barriers makes a cyclist even easier to pass and less relevant and therefore even more likely to be overlooked than a cyclist riding in a striped bike lane.
That is, a driver’s primary focus area (see graphic below) — naturally concentrated on the course ahead — is likely to stop at the right edge of their  lane. And that edge is probably sharper when it has barriers than when it’s just paint. And it only makes sense that the further a cyclist is from a driver’s primary focus area — “further” by relevance not just pure physical distance — the more likely they are to be unnoticed by the driver.
CBEB124C-951F-4A47-B2DC-343366B3D19B.png

Attention test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo

Some excellent bicycling safety links at the bottom of the article.

Wear brightly colored [Yellow (best), White (2nd Best) or Orange (3rd Best)]:

  1. Jersey
  2. Helmet
  3. Reflective vest
  4. Shoes, shoe covers, or socks and pants (bio movement)
  5. Front and back blinky lights. Lights with bio movement are the best on arms and legs.
  6. Spoke reflectors and other rotating reflectors (pedals and cranks)

Category: Guest Columns / Tags: , , , , ,

Rule change could ban bikes from streets, Garcetti distracted by shiny flying object, and $25k reward in Specialized bike thefts

December 18, 2020 / / One comment

Just six days left in the 6th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to everyone who’s given so far for their generous donations to help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

For everyone else, what are you waiting for?

Time’s running out! Give to the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive today!

And come back after 10:30 this morning for a guest post by Phillip Young that could improve your chances of being seen on the road.

………

Unbelievable.

If a proposed Federal Highway Administration rule change goes into effect, you could be banned from riding on any street without bike lanes or signage.

Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland writes that a phrase explicitly stating that the absence of bike infrastructure doesn’t mean bikes aren’t allowed is in danger of being changed to say just the opposite.

Image from FHWA website via bikeportland.org

He writes that the change is buried in a major update to the massive Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices published by the Federal Highway Administration on Friday and posted to the Federal Register on Monday.

This change, which has proposed under the Trump administration but will be finalized in the Biden administration — has set off shockwaves in the bicycle advocacy world. It was first pointed out on Twitter this afternoon by League of American Bicyclists Policy Director Ken McLeod.

Reached on the phone from his office in Washington D.C. a few minutes ago, McLeod said the change is so surprising it “seems like a mistake”. “But at same time,” he added, “Why we you trust that it’s a typo? I think we need to treat this seriously and as real.”

Even if it were a mistake, if it wasn’t caught by McLeod it would have likely ended up as binding federal law. The MUTCD is supposed to be updated every 3-4 years, but it’s taken 10 years for this update to happen. That led McLeod to say, if this was done in error, “It could take a long time to fix.”

Let’s hope it really is a mistake.

And not one more last-minute rule change slipped in by the outgoing Trump administration.

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It’s going to be a long two years.

That’s how much time is left in LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s final term, after the mayor was apparently snubbed by the Biden administration, despite rumors he was a prime candidate for a cabinet-level position.

Because instead refocusing on the city’s long forgotten Mobility Plan, the failed Vision Zero program or the mayor’s own Green New Deal that promised to change how Angelenos get around, he’s shifted his attention to this shiny object — a proposed flying taxi service, which will benefit only those rich enough to use it.

And allow the wealthy to zoom over LA’s clogged and deadly streets, while the rest of us are forced to slog it out down here on the ground.

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Mike Wilkinson forward news that Lakewood is taking comments on a new master plan that would impact Rynerson Park, an important access point for the San Gabriel River Trail.

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Specialized is offering a $25,000 reward to recover the bicycles, many of them one of a kind, that were stolen from their Morgan Hill CA headquarters over the weekend.

The thieves made off with $160,000 dollars worth of prototypes, race-winning bikes and personal bicycles belonging to employees that were on display in the building.

Anyone with information can call Morgan Hill Police Department Cpl. Mindy Zen at 669/253-4917 or the department’s anonymous tip line at 408/947-7867.

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A virtual memorial ride will be held on Zwift tomorrow to honor the five Las Vegas bicyclists killed by an alleged meth-addled truck driver.

The ride is being hosted by a former Vegas police officer who was on the ride at the time of the crash.

You can read the story on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you out.

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This is why you should register your bike with Bike Index.

It’s free. It lasts a lifetime. It’s transferable. It’s used by the LAPD.

And it works.

Twitter post

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Everyone needs a bike day every now and then.

Even him.

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Local

No news is good news, right? 

 

State

Streetsblog explains what to do if you’ve been victimized by the driver of an illegally modified pickup rolling coal.

A San Jacinto bike rider suffered major trauma to both legs when he was struck by an alleged drunk driver early Thursday morning; he was hospitalized in serious but stable condition.

San Francisco considers dropping the speed limit to 20 mph in the city’s deadly Tenderloin District. Or better yet, why not the entire city?

Bay Area advocates complain that a new $6 million bike and pedestrian access tube in Alameda would be just as useless as the one it’s supposed to replace.

A planned Ripon bike path is being threatened by habitat for a rare threatened species of beetle.

 

National

Yes, there is haircare hope for Black bike riders. Again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you out.

The Verge tries out Harley Davidson’s new ebikes, and likes just about everything but the price. Meanwhile, New Atlas looks at ebike makers who did things differently this year.

Moving piece from Singletracks, as an Idaho man takes to his mountain bike to ride through grief over the death of his sister. I did the same thing on my roadie after my dad’s death, and again with my mother and both my in-laws; there’s something about riding that allows you to process loss in ways you can’t otherwise. Or I couldn’t, anyway.

They get it. Missoula, Montana is considering a plan to reduce speed limits on residential streets to 20 mph to prevent crashes and reduce their severity. Meanwhile, Los Angeles and other California cities continue to let drivers push speed limits ever higher thanks to the deadly 85th Percentile Law.

Texas Monthly talks with Austin bespoke bikemaker Nao Tomli.

‘Tis the season. A Texas investigative reporter helps out a family in need with nearly $2,000 in gifts, including bikes for all the kids.

‘Tis the season too. An Ohio group donates 24 bicycles to boys victimized by domestic violence, despite being shut down most of this year.

New York bike advocates complain that many of the city’s bike lanes are too wide, inviting people to drive or park in them; the city’s sanitation department wants the wide widths to accommodate their garbage trucks and snow plows.

Streetsblog New York says the NYPD’s bike safety tweets would make a pretty good comedy routine. Except they’re not funny.

New York continues to experience Vision Zero in reverse, as the city’s streets keep getting deadlier, despite earlier progress.

The family of a Florida bike rider call for lights to be installed on a Jacksonville bridge after an 18-year old boy hit a wall when the sidewalk ended, flipping him over; sadly, his body wasn’t found until a week later.

 

International

This year’s bicycle shortage could just be foreshadowing even worse supply problems next year.

A writer for Treehugger says her only regret in trading the family car for a cargo bike was not doing it sooner.

The founder of British bikeshare firm Beryl writes that bikeshare can help drive gender parity in bicycling.

A UK bike nonprofit urges local councils to be brave in the face of angry opposition to active transportation projects.

A fact-checking site says not so fast about that survey showing Brits ready to dump the Conservatives in anger over bike lanes.

The British manufacturer of the illegally overpowered electric trail motorcycle Simon Cowell was riding when he broke his back says it’s not their fault he cranked the throttle too far.

 

Competitive Cycling

Belgium’s Woot van Aert won the Crystal Bicycle award as the country’s best cyclist.

 

Finally…

You gotta love a new high-end aero bike inspired by The Clash. Where to catch a draft in a bike race.

And that feeling when your latest object of lust was built in the ’90s.

No, the 1890s.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a damn mask, already. 

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

Killer Vegas truck driver on meth, killer Bonsall truck driver stoned, and Tamika Butler’s take on Buttigieg to head USDOT

December 17, 2020 / / Comments Off on Killer Vegas truck driver on meth, killer Bonsall truck driver stoned, and Tamika Butler’s take on Buttigieg to head USDOT

It’s the final Thursday of the 6th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Gold Leaf Films, Brer M and David V for their generous donations to help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

So don’t wait.

Give to the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive today and beat the holiday rush!

………

That explains it.

The truck driver who killed five Las Vegas bicyclists and injured four others, one critically, was allegedly high on meth at the time of the crash.

Police bodycam video from the scene shows Jordan Barson tearfully insisting he must have fallen asleep before drifting off the roadway, since he had no memory of the crash.

A blood test showed Barson had an “extremely high” level of the drug in his system, despite the earlier insistence by investigators that intoxication did not play a role in the crash, and it was all just an unfortunate accident.

He was charged with five counts of DUI resulting in death, six counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, and one count of DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm, which could result in “decades” behind bars.

And should, if there’s any justice.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign for the victims has raised over $91,000 of the $100,000 goal in just five days.

And a ghost bike is already up for the victims.

Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.

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The driver in Tuesday’s fatal bicycling collision in Bonsall has been charged with DUI for allegedly being stoned behind the wheel, and drifting into what looks like a painted shoulder, but police call a bike lane.

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Transportation and diversity consultant Tamika Butler offers her unique perspective on the selection of Pete Buttigieg as US Secretary of Transportation.

As a self-identified genderqueer Black woman, she congratulates Buttigieg on his selection as the first LGTBQ cabinet secretary.

But goes on to add this.

Being a member of the administration’s cabinet is truly a privilege and I hope that Buttigieg acknowledges that privilege and power and uses it to make important transportation funding and policy decisions that are informed by the communities that too often suffer the burdens of those decisions rather than reap the benefits. I hope the team Buttigieg surrounds himself with is reflective of the rich and diverse makeup of this country and does not reflect, uphold, and reinforce the current lack of diversity in the transportation sector.

At a time when our infrastructure is failing, our transit funding is falling off a cliff, the dire state of climate change requires innovative transportation solutions, transportation inequities continue to widen disparities along all social and economic outcomes, and mobility and transportation continue to be used as forms of policing of BIPOC bodies, many people have questioned the appointment of Buttigieg, with his relatively little direct transportation experience. But Buttigieg has always been willing to try and has succeeded where people have doubted him. I hope he brings that energy to the policy decision-making and staffing—especially at the leadership level—of the Department of Transportation as he takes on this truly important role to support President Biden and Vice President Harris in their vision of building back better.

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Long Beach will host a food giveaway for those in need this morning.

And for a change, you don’t need a car.

Twitter post

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Bikes are hard to find this year, especially decent kids bikes. Fortunately, Culver City-based Walk ‘n’ Rollers is here with the solution.

Twitter post

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Maybe the war on cars really is a thing.

Twitter post

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I don’t know a thing about his policies in the campaign for Los Angeles City Controller.

But somehow, I like him already.

https://twitter.com/kennethmejiaLA/status/1339312577541619713

Thanks to Meghan Lynch for the link.

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But SoCal bike riders won’t ride in the winter, when the weather sometimes dips all the way down to the 60s.

Right?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CI4OrIrB7Fi/

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

The bike-riding man accused of attacking a group of teens putting up posters about the death of George Floyd along a Bethesda, Maryland bike trail has pled guilty to second-degree assault; Anthony Brennan III will be sentenced February 2nd.

South Carolina police are looking for a man who abandoned his full shopping cart in a Walmart, and made off with a bicycle and a backpack — then came back to do it again.

A Miami man faces charges for throwing his bicycle at another man following a dispute, then attacking him with a hammer.

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Local

They get it. The LA Times says public transit is in a death spiral, and must be rescued to keep from endangering bike riders and pedestrians by forcing more cars onto the roads. And that “the post-pandemic transportation system has to reward transit riders, bicyclists and pedestrians with safe, efficient and comfortable ways to travel.”

The Uplift Melrose project is back, but thanks to pseudo-environmentalist Councilmember Paul Koretz, without the protected bike lanes that were key to the project. So the street will remain just as dangerously auto-centric as before.

East LA’s recently formed Activos bike club is holding a toy ride this Sunday, collecting toys at Belvedere Park and riding with them to Whittier.

 

State

‘Tis the season. A Manteca group donated 120 new bicycles to children of needy families.

Morgan Hill-based Specialized was victimized by a brazen daytime burglary; bikes worth a total of $160,000 were stolen from the company’s museum, as well as bicycle prototypes and bikes belonging to employees.

 

National

New Strava data shows male bicyclists rode 41 percent more than last year, while female riders showed a whopping 72 percent increase.

C|net looks at the year’s best cargo bikes.

Here’s yet another problem with bike helmet laws. Seattle police rarely enforce that city’s mandatory helmet law. And when they do, it’s often homeless people who get ticketed, even though they may not even have access to a one.

Nice story from Bicycling about Golden, Colorado-based marketer and former political campaign consultant Alex Showerman, who now rides for the pure joy of it after coming out as a transgender woman, despite living the first 32 years of her life as a man. Unfortunately, if this one’s available on Yahoo, I couldn’t find it.

Houston pledges to end traffic deaths by 2030. Let’s hope their leaders take it more seriously than Los Angeles, where just four years remain in the city’s commitment to end traffic deaths by 2025. “Commitment” being a relative term, in this case.

‘Tis the season too. A bighearted Connecticut teenager raises funds throughout the year by selling ice cream, then uses the money to give anonymous gifts for children in need — including 20 bicycles this year.

A New York bicycle delivery rider was shot in two places as he rode through Harlem, apparently the victim of stay bullets fired from a pair of passing cars.

New York shut down its Citi Bike bikeshare Wednesday night in advance of a major snowstorm.

A North Carolina man’s three-wheeled bike has become a permanent memorial  after the popular bike rider died following a collision last year.

 

International

Sad news from north of the border, where an 88-year old man overcame Parkinson’s to ride across Canada, but couldn’t out-pedal Covid-19.

A Vancouver mother and daughter are shocked to see a police car barreling towards them as they rode in a popup bike lane. So much for the myth that bike lanes block emergency vehicles from getting through. Because well-designed ones don’t. 

Toronto bike riders are complaining after new bike racks were installed with easy-to-remove bolts securing them to the ground. Although secure may not be the right word.

A new London study shows that painted advisory bike lanes — shared lanes marked by a broken white stripe — actually increase the risk of injuries to riders, while curb-protected lanes cut the risk of injuries by 40 percent, and stepped lanes cut the risk to riders by a whopping 65 percent.

An English county councillor was forced to resign after tweeting that bike riders are “constantly wanking off the Dutch.” If you’re not familiar with the word, it involves taking sex into your own hands, so to speak.

This is who we share the road with. A British man will spend the next 30 years behind bars for intentionally ramming his car into six co-workers, “knocking them over like bowling pins,” after he was punched at a company Christmas party.

British bike scribe Carlton Reid and son switch to gravel bikes to ride ancient Roman roadways through the English countryside.

The pandemic is fueling a boom in UK bicycle delivery.

Bicycles have become a friend to impoverished Eritreans.

 

Competitive Cycling

Colombian track star Fabian Puerta, a favorite for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, will be staying home after receiving a four-year ban for doping. But the doping era in cycling is over, right?

A local TV station looks at Chula Vista teenager Dante Silva’s rapid rise in downhill mountain biking.

 

Finally…

That’s one way to store your bike on a train, anyway. From Buddhist monk to Peloton instructor.

And who needs an ebike?

https://twitter.com/cyclelicious/status/1339335430420873216

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On a personal note, I was scheduled to have the first of two wrist surgeries for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome this morning.

However, my surgery was cancelled on Tuesday, when Cedars Sinai cancelled all elective surgeries to prevent being overwhelmed by the Covid-19 crisis. Which means I’ll get to keep living with severe pain for the foreseeable future. 

All because too many people refused to take a worldwide pandemic seriously. 

So please, be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a damn mask, already. 

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

Mayor Pete tapped to head US DOT, register to run for Hollywood Hills West NC, and drawing dicks with ebike tires

December 16, 2020 / / Comments Off on Mayor Pete tapped to head US DOT, register to run for Hollywood Hills West NC, and drawing dicks with ebike tires

It’s Day 20 of the 6th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Jamie S for a generous donation to help bring all the best bike news and advocacy to your favorite screen every morning — and especially for the kind words. 

Don’t wait. Give to the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive today!

………

Today’s common theme is the nomination of former South Bend IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg to take the helm of the US Department of Transportation in the new Biden administration.

Curbed’s Alissa Walker says Buttigieg isn’t a transportation visionary, but he may not need to be because his new boss is.

Streetsblog considers what Mayor Pete would mean for the Transportation Department, noting some of his progressive campaign promises, as well as a few problems.

And The Points Guy considers what hims nomination means for transportation.

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Here’s your chance to add another bike-friendly voice to your neighborhood council, if you live or work in Hollywood.

Twitter post

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

Aussie authorities are looking for the man responsible for the bizarre crime of using the throttle on his ebike to draw phallic symbols on a bike path with the bike’s tire.

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Local

Metro Bike offers tips on how to stay safe riding a bike during the holidays. No, from Covid-19.

Pasadena police wrote 155 tickets during their latest bike and pedestrian safety crackdown, writing up 108 drivers, 25 bike riders and 22 pedestrians. Even though the biggest danger the last two posed was to themselves, which isn’t the case for the people in the big, dangerous machines.

Santa Monica is establishing a one-square mile, first-in-the-nation zero-emissions delivery zone in the downtown area, which should lead to an abundance of e-cargo bikes and delivery vans.

 

State

Bicyclists in Encinitas called for safety improvements in the coastal San Diego County city as a ghost bike was installed for Dr. Dr. Jennings Worley, a noted authority in the battle against cystic fibrosis, who was killed in a collision while riding his bike last month.

Sad news from the Bay Area, where word broke that the chief financial officer of the Sports Basement was one of the five victims who were killed last week when a trucker smashed into a group ride outside of Las Vegas.

 

National

Streetsblog says 2021 could be the tipping point when driverless cars become inevitable.

Cycling USA is raffling off a pair of Cannondale/Rapha/Palace bikes used in the 2020 Giro d’Italia, with funds going to support co-ed teams at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges and Universities for the next three years

Popular Science tries out the new Harley Davidson ebikes.

‘Tis the season. A Tulsa OK organization donates over 200 bikes for local family in need.

Police in Ohio are looking for the red light-running hit-and-run driver who killed a 60-year old man out for a bike ride on his birthday.

Boston police recovered dozens of hot bikes after a large-scale investigation.

New York will finally begin work on finishing the long-delayed Queens Boulevard protected bike lane next year, even after the mayor attempted to pull the plug at the behest of a car-centric community council member.

Snopes confirms that a Florida manatee really did free itself from a bike tire that was stuck around its body for up to a year.

An 89-year old resident of a massive Florida retirement community pled not guilty in the hit-and-run that injured two bike riders, one seriously. Yet another example of keeping dangerous drivers on the road until it’s too late.

 

International

Cycling Weekly considers what the bike industry can learn from the bizarre Tesla ebike prototype.

Portugal is mourning legendary, record-setting cyclist and firefighter Carlos Vieira, who died of Covid-19 at 68.

Bike riders in Calcutta, aka Kolkota, asked the police commissioner to allow bicycles on all of the city’s streets, as a growing number of people, many of them poor, are riding to work to avoid crowded public transport during the pandemic; bikes are currently banned from major arterials.

Two Chinese college students filed suit against former dockless bikeshare giant Ofo in hopes of getting their deposits back. Meanwhile, Ofo competitor Mobike is shutting down after being purchased by another company.

 

Competitive Cycling

Good news for diversity-based cycling team L39ion of Los Angeles, which just announced a sponsorship agreement with deep-pocketed Zwift. You can join a virtual Zwift ride with the team next Tuesday.

A new documentary recounts the long road to recovery for Belgian cyclist Stig Broeckx, who was nearly killed in a horrific collision with a race moto in the 2016 Tour of Belgium, after almost miraculously awakening after six months in a coma.

 

Finally…

Just sprinkle a few kids bikes around the neighborhood in hopes that someone who needs one finds it. When traffic backs up at a drive-through holiday event, always blame the people on bikes.

And that feeling when your only motorcade is a bicycle.

Twitter post

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Update: Bike rider killed in collision with semi driver near Bonsall, second fatal San Diego County bike crash in two days

December 15, 2020 / / 4 comments

For the second time in two days, a bike rider has been killed in San Diego County.

Multiple sources are reporting someone on a bicycle was killed while riding on eastbound State Route 76, near North River Road outside of Bonsall this morning, less than a day after a man was killed in a Santee collision.

The Village News offers more details, placing the crash just west of North River Road around 10:24 am.

According to the paper, the victim was riding east on SR 76 when he was struck by the driver of a semi-truck traveling in the same direction.

No identification or description was given for either the victim or the driver.

The driver returned to the scene, which suggests he or she initially kept kept going. It’s possible they may not have known they hit someone at first if they sideswiped the victim.

Otherwise, the driver should have been aware of the impact.

A street view shows SR 73 is a divided highway with two lanes in each direction and a paved, painted shoulder, along with a right turn slip lane the victim would have had to navigate in order to stay on the highway.

This is at least the 65th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

Update: The driver, who has not been identified, was allegedly stoned on some unspecified drug at the time of the crash.

He reported drifted off the roadway onto what the CHP identifies as a bike lane, where the victim was riding, then returned to the scene after finding a safe place to turn around. 

Which does not explain why he didn’t simply stop after hitting the victim. 

The 57-year old Santa Fe Springs resident was arrested on suspicion of DUI. 

Meanwhile, the victim has been identified only as a 58-year old Oceanside resident riding a KHS road bike. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his or her loved ones.

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,
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