That’s what happened yesterday morning on trail above Simi Valley, where a man apparently died of natural causes while riding with a group of friends.
According to the Ventura County Star, the victim was riding on the Undertow Trail, which they describe as a popular mountain bike trail south of Hummingbird Ranch outside Simi Valley, when he began to feel ill around 10:40 am.
His riding companions told him to turn back, and called 911.
The Ventura County Fire Department and a county helicopter crew responded; sadly, the 52-year old Santa Clarita resident died before rescue personnel could arrive.
This is at least the 30th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
It’s also a reminder to see your doctor on a regular basis — especially if you’re having unexplained chest pains or difficulty breathing, no matter how fit you may feel.
It may not have made a difference in this case.
But it might in yours.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones.
May 17, 2019 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Update: Report on Long Beach bicycling crash has been taken down; victim remains in critical condition
Earlier today, we reported that the victim in yesterday’s Long Beach crash had died, based on a report on Long Beach Local News.
However, that page has since been taken down with no explanation.
As a result, I have removed my article until we have a further update on the condition of the victim. So let’s all hope they were wrong, and offer her our prayers.
And let’s hope LBLN learns how to run a retraction.
Update: I’ve received confirmation from someone with the Long Beach Post that the victim of this crash is still alive, and remains in critical condition.
So let’s all keep our fingers crossed.
Thanks to John McBrearty and April Morris for their help with this story.
Jackson will be at Sunday’s Finish the Ride in Griffith Park to spread the need for safer streets if you want to wish him well in his recovery; registration ends at 6 pm tomorrow.
When the driver caught up to him at a red light, he allegedly kicked and punched the car, then reached in to grab her mother, before spitting on both women and riding away.
Let’s hope the woman he was riding with saw all that, and took it as fair warning before he turns that violent temper her way some day.
Although it does make you wonder what the driver said when she caught up to him.
Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay calls Ben King the humble king of American cycling. Unfortunately, the article is hidden behind the Journal’s paywall, so you may not get past the first few paragraphs.
If no one shows up on Bike to Work Day, they can feel free to send any leftover donuts my way, since it looks like at least another month before I can ride my bike anywhere besides my living room.
Police tracked the driver to a nearby apartment, where he was taken into custody on suspicion of being drunk and stoned behind the wheel.
And if the street sounds familiar, it’s the same one where Rose City NIMBYs were driven to a frenzy by a group affiliated with traffic safety deniers Keep LA Moving to demand that the city keep the street dangerous.
Clearly, they succeeded.
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Brayden Dakota captured bike cam video of a close call on a blind intersection near the Canoga Station on the Orange Line Bike Path.
Unfortunately, it’s not the first time I’ve seen video of a similar near-collision at that location. Hopefully someone will finally do something to fix the problem, so it will be the last.
Very surprising, though, was Los Angeles actually making the list at 56th, primarily because we ranked first for the world’s best bicycling weather, though you couldn’t prove it today.
Recovering the feminist legacy of cycling requires overcoming the practical obstacles that keep women off bikes, and making sure women’s voices are heard in city planning. But perhaps most importantly, it will mean reclaiming the joy, pleasure, and sense of possibility that those early cyclists felt. Women deserve to reconnect with the idea that by riding our bikes we are creating a better future, for ourselves and for our cities.
An Ottawa, Canada man is back in the saddle for the first time in a decade after he was critically injured in a bicycling collision, as he trains for a 2K ride on a walking bike — basically a three-wheeled adult balance bike.
Road.cc offers advice for British bike riders who’ve been in a crash, most of which applies on this side of the Atlantic, as well. We should all be jealous of a country where bicyclists are entitled to free legal advice.
Um, okay. A Zambian witch-doctor was sentenced to 18 year hard labor for indecent assault against five elderly people that he blamed for using witchcraft to make a boy fall off his bike and die; he took them to a graveyard and made them undress and lie on a grave, then rolled on them to exorcize their powers.
Just in time for this year’s Ride of Silence, yet another person has died while riding or walking a bicycle, this time in Redlands.
According to the Redlands Daily Facts, a man was killed when he was struck by a driver while lying in the roadway next to a bicycle.
The 21-year old driver was returning home from work around 2:30 am Tuesday when she spotted the victim lying in the southbound lane of Orange Street north of Pioneer Avenue in Redlands, but was unable to swerve in time to avoid him.
The victim, publicly identified only as a 31-year old transient, was declared dead at the site.
The driver remained at the scene, and was not suspected of being under the influence.
There’s no word on why the victim was in the street, or if he had been riding or walking his bike.
It’s possible that he may have fallen off his bicycle for some reason, or he could have been the victim of a prior hit-and-run.
The speed limit on that section of Orange was either 40 mph or 45 mph, depending on which side of Pioneer the crash was on despite being in a residential neighborhood.
Either way, an impact at those speeds is unlikely to be survivable.
This is at least the 28th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones.
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Because of tonight’s breaking news stories, there will be no Morning Links today. We’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we’ve missed.
According to Mission Viejo Patch, an eight-year old boy was killed when he was struck by a car in Ladera Ranch Monday evening.
Second grader Jaxon Ortiz was riding his BMX bike near his Ladera Ranch home around 6:30 pm when he reportedly entered Orange Blossom Circle from a walkway without stopping for traffic.
He was hit by the car, even though the driver was only traveling at 15 mph, according to the initial investigation.
Ortiz was taken to Mission Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Unfortunately, no cross street was given, making it impossible to pinpoint just where the crash occurred.
No other details are available at this time. And no explanation why Ortiz’ death hasn’t been reported by the mainstream media.
