Day 283 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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No bias here.
A Boulder, Colorado driver is stymied by helmetless “stealth” bicyclists who zoom through when he has the right-of-way, ultimately concluding that there is only one possible explanation.
Narcissism.
And he would know, because he used to ride a bicycle before he gave it up because of all those dangerous drivers out there.
I’ve finally reached the conclusion that it’s all about narcissism. It’s all about appearance. It’s all about ego. People want to look cool. Dark helmets and clothes are cool. Bright helmets and clothing are not. Apparently, they are only for nerds.
It’s commonplace knowledge that we live in a culture of narcissism where one’s appearance and self-presentation are everything. And part of the culture of narcissism in Boulder is the desire to appear to others to be living life effortlessly and successfully without restrictions, just gliding masterfully through life, exempt from fear, looking good. It’s this same desire that results in motorcyclists (“organ doners,” (sic) as professional truckers call them) riding without helmets. I have a friend who spent a summer during college working in a clinic for people with head injuries. They were all men, and a high portion were motorcyclists. He said that after that experience, you could not pay him to ride a motorcycle.
Yes, unlike, say, human beings, bike riders base their entire decision on what to wear on whether they like it, and think it looks good on them.
When we all know that anyone who cared about safety would put on their oversized shoes, bright yellow vests and full clown makeup before ever leaving home.
Oh, and a screaming neon bike helmet, because everyone knows a little bit of plastic on your head will make your body impervious to any injury that might otherwise be inflicted by a speeding, distracted driver in massive SUV.
Seriously, I’m as safety conscious as anyone.
I try to wear clothing that contrasts with the environment — bright at night and cloudy days, dark on bright, sunny ones. Not because I’m a raging anti-narcissist, but because decades of experience tell me it can help get the attention of drivers.
Okay, some drivers.
And yes, I also wear a helmet, not because it’s the moral equivalent of seat belts, air bags and crumple zones, but because it might offer some degree of protection should my thick skull make contact with the pavement.
Although recognizing that bike helmets are designed to protect against relatively slow speed falls, not high-speed crashes — and acknowledging that other people may make other choices, informed or otherwise.
Because that’s what other people do.
I also believe in lighting my bike up like a Christmas tree, day and night, not because those flashing lights look pretty, but because it’s the best way I know to try to catch the attention of the people in a big, dangerous machines.
And trust me, if I knew a better way, I’d do it in a New York minute. Which somehow seems to be faster than other minutes, through some strange quirk of quantum physics.
Never mind that if you’re going to live your life in fear, you might as well just stay home hiding under the couch cushions.
And I don’t know about you, but I refuse to live that way.
As the late, great Damon Runyon wrote, “All life is 6 to 5 against.” You accept that, do what you can to improve your odds, and live your life anyway.
Narcissism be damned.
Unfortunately, the Boulder op-ed is hidden behind the paper’s paywall, so you may have trouble seeing it. Because, apparently not fully grasping how the internet works, they somehow expect you to subscribe to newspaper a thousand miles from Southern California that you may never read again.
And yes, I know print media struggling, and needs all the help they can get.
But that’s not the way to make it work. Especially when drawing more distant eyeballs could help raise ad revenue.
Today’s photo of a narcissistic ninja by Iren Fedo from Pexels.
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Rebecca forwards news of a teenaged girl killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking in Monrovia on Sunday. And even though this site is about bicycling, it’s worth sharing in an effort to find some justice for the victim, identified as Sulmy Merary Lopez.
A 16 year old was killed on Sunday in Monrovia in a hit and run. I haven’t seen much public about it yet, but the Monrovia police department has a request out for information on their socials, which has been picked up by Monrovia Now.
There is also a gofundme out. I cannot confirm the validity of this. I certainly hope it is valid, but I have no personal information.
In interesting timing, the city currently has a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program planning grant, and they are having a first listening session on Monday.
The crowdfunding page, which is in Spanish, reads,
To all kind-hearted people who would like to contribute to the funeral of my little sister Sulmy, who was born on January 9, 2009, and passed away yesterday, October 5, 2025, at just 16 years old. She was hit by a car in a terrible accident. I hope the police can investigate these events and give us the answers we so desperately need. We sincerely ask for your help so we can repatriate her to Guatemala. My mother, Juana López, and my brother, Breily Rivas, will be grateful to any kind people who want to contribute. Thank you and many blessings.
As of this writing, the page has raised just $465 of the modest $3,500 goal.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Like using a cannon instead of a flyswatter, Leeds, England is banning all bikes from the city center to address the problem of a relative handful of rude blokes on electric motorbikes.
An Irish city councilor complains that a protected bike lane should be “reviewed,” because cabbies can’t pull right into it to pick up or drop off passengers, even though it’s used by commuters and school kids. But what’s a school kid or two if it keeps taxi passengers from walking a few more feet?
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A reporter for The London Telegraph stood on a corner in the city’s virtually carfree Bank District and counted 172 bike riders running red lights in a single hour, claiming it’s only a matter of time before someone gets killed. No one should ever go through a red light or crosswalk when people are crossing or riding in the other direction, but they seem to be mistaking bicycles for big dangerous machines that hurt a lot more when they hit you.
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Local
Don’t forget CicLAvia’s 15th anniversary return to the Heart of Los Angeles this Sunday.
Los Angeles County’s proposed Urban Natureways initiative would reimagine the region’s underutilized flood control channels and utility corridors as “vibrant” greenways; the key corridors identified for the first phase include Compton Creek, the San Gabriel Valley’s Emerald Necklace, the Lower Los Angeles River and the Pacoima Wash.
State
Santa Barbara is installing 250 new — and presumably more secure — bike racks downtown and on the waterfront, replacing the city’s old hitching-post style racks.
This is why people keep dying on our streets. A 48-year old Oakland woman was arrested on DUI and hit-and-run charges after allegedly injuring a Berkeley bike rider — despite having an open DUI case from last year. Maybe we should require interlock devices as a condition of bail for anyone arrested on a DUI charge.
National
An adventure travel site ranks the top ten bicycling destinations in the US, with San Diego at number two. And yes, riding the city’s streets was definitely an adventure back when I lived down there.
A 36-year old Arizona man is facing a first-degree murder charge after allegedly stabbing a 65-year old man to death at a bus stop to steal his bicycle. As we’ve said before, no bike is worth your life. Give it up and live to ride another day.
Albuquerque, New Mexico is getting criticism for proposing an incomplete street makeover of a four-lane roadway, with plans a road diet but no bike lanes.
A writer for Road Bike Action goes bikepacking on Missouri’s 240-mile rail-to-trail Katy Trail.
This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. A Northern Kentucky bridge is getting a Complete Streets makeover, removing a traffic lane in each direction while installing buffered bike lanes, in response to demands for change after a woman was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding across the bridge with her boyfriend. But why do changes like this always seem to come only after it’s too late?
A Pittsburgh woman credits total strangers with saving her life, as well as her ability to walk, after she flipped her ebike into a ditch and felt her neck snap; a man who had just proposed to his girlfriend spotted her bike while driving by and got out to help — and the couple just happened to be a nurse/paramedic and an EMT.
New York advocates say the only real solution to safety for everyone in Central Park is to build protected bike lanes around and through it.
International
Cycling Weekly calls Tern’s compact e-cargo bike the ultimate family vehicle, saying it’s “so easy to ride and so adaptable, it can help anyone get ‘stuff’ done.” Which I only mention because it’s exactly what I would buy, if only I could afford the price of a decent used car, which I can’t.
The CBC says some people in the local bicycling community have been scared off their bikes in Prince George, British Columbia due to a lack of safe infrastructure, in the months since one man was killed and another seriously injured when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver while training for a charity bike ride; the driver faces DUI, hit-and-run and dangerous driving charges.
Up to one-third of British bike riders may not know they’re breaking the law by riding on the sidewalks. Yes, I know the story says “pavements,” but that’s what they call sidewalks in the UK. You know, that whole “two countries divided by a common language” thing, and all.
Cycling Weekly says Italy’s carfree Sellaronda Bike Day following Giro d’Italia routes through the Dolomites may be hard, but riding it is pure joy.
Bicycling Australia dives into the wonderful world of e-cargo bikes.
Competitive Cycling
A 21-year old college graduate is setting out to revive the British grassroots bike racing scene from the ground up. Which is kinda what “grassroots” means, but still.
Twenty-eight-year old Canadian cyclist Derek Gee is trying to break his contract with the Israel-Premier Tech team, saying he is “simply unable to continue racing for the team,” despite facing possible damages of more than $48.6 million.
French cyclist Arnaud Démare joins the growing list of pro cyclists calling it a career, announcing his retirement after just 14 seasons, 97 victories, 10 grand tour stages and one Monument.
Mexican cycling star Isaac del Toro may have a future in this sport after all, matching the 17 wins Tadej Pogačar had in his first two seasons as a pro.
Finally…
Seriously, doesn’t everyone have a secret bike rack in the back of their Rolls?
And getting an early jump on Halloween from inside your wheel. Hint: Don’t click on it if you’ve got a weak stomach.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
returns to the streets of DTLA, Boyle Heights and Westlake/MacArthur Park almost exactly fifteen years to the day after the original 10/10/10 event.
