Unfortunately, after writing about yesterday’s bicycling fatalities in Highland and San Diego, there’s not enough time to write today’s Morning Links. So come back tomorrow, and we’ll catch up on anything you missed.
Homeless man killed riding bike in San Diego’s Mission Valley; same location another homeless man killed in 2015
A homeless man lost his life Tuesday night in what appears to be a tragic case of deja vu.
According to Fox-5 San Diego, the victim, identified only as a homeless man in his 50s, was struck by a car at 6:15 pm Tuesday in San Diego’s Mission Valley.
He was reportedly trying to ride his bike across the 8800 block of Friars Road near Rio Bonita Way when he was hit by the driver of the car, who claimed he could not see the darkly clad rider until it was too late.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports he suffered a number of open fractures, and died after being transported to a hospital.
A street view shows a busy six lane roadway, with bike lanes of widely varying widths.
Police reported he was crossing Friars Road “outside of a crosswalk.” However, there doesn’t appear to be a crosswalk, or any other safe crossings, anywhere in the vicinity.
This comes a little over two years after another homeless man, 65-year old Matthew Driggers, was killed walking his bike across Friars in almost exactly the same location.
Which suggests that something has to be done to provide a safe way to cross a badly designed and inherently dangerous street.
And more has to be done to protect the most vulnerable and invisible members of society.
This is the fifth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and first in San Diego.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones.
Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: bicycling fatality, homeless, San Diego, San Diego County
Redlands bike rider dies two days after crash in Highlands
News broke Monday night that a bike rider had suffered life threatening injuries in a Highland crash on Saturday.
Sadly, he didn’t make it.
The San Bernardino Sun reports the victim was struck by a pickup on Palm Avenue south of Third Street around 7:30 pm Saturday; he passed away from his injuries Monday afternoon.
The San Bernardino County coroner identified him as 34-year old Redlands resident Brandon Mayberry.
According to the coroner, the crash occurred as Mayberry was riding north on Palm, and was rear-ended by the driver of the truck.
The driver reportedly stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
A street view shows two lanes in each direction on Palm with a center turn lane, and what appears to be bike lanes on either side.
Anyone with information about the crash is urged to contact Highland Police Department Deputy Kyle Glozer at 909/425-9793.
This is the 4th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy for Brandon Mayberry and all his loved ones.
Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: bicycling fatality, Brandon Mayberry, Highland, Redlands, San Bernardino County
Morning Links: CicLAvia goes to the Heart of the Foothills on April 22nd, and the war on bikes goes on
One quick note before we move on to today’s big CicLAvia news.
My email is down this week after running an update, so my apologies if anyone has reached out to me and I haven’t responded. I’ll try to catch up once I get it working again.
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CicLAvia officially unveiled the route for their next open streets event, taking a first-time journey through the Heart of the Foothills, from Claremont to San Dimas, next Earth Day.
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Once again, while the war on cars is mythical, the all-too-real war on bikes goes on.
A road raging driver threatened a Massachusetts bike rider with a baseball bat, for the crime of riding in the left traffic lane because the right lane was blocked with snow; needless to say, the driver hasn’t been charged.
A Florida nurse was shot in the leg with a pellet gun in a drive-by while riding her bicycle.
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Local
Streetsblog congratulates the winners of this year’s Streetsie Awards.
The Press-Telegram offers more information about Saturday’s police shooting of a Long Beach bike rider, including that the officer who fired did not have a body cam.
State
A bicyclist from India stops in Fresno on his round-the-world tour to raise awareness for climate change and global peace.
Apple is providing 1,000 “minimalist” bicycles for employees, so they don’t get too tired or bored on the ten minute walk from the parking garage to the company’s new campus.
A 70-year old man who lives in his car faces a host of charges, including DUI, hit-and-run and attempted murder, for allegedly intentionally driving down a San Francisco sidewalk, though he claimed it was due to faulty brakes.
A Sonoma County group gave away 25 donated bicycles to victims of the 2015 Valley Fire; it was their sixth bike giveaway for fire victims.
Take a four day bike tour of the Northern California wine country for $2,299 a person. Or just grab your bike and a sleeping bag, and do it for free.
Sacramento considers an ordinance that would give dockless bikeshare companies just two hours to collect stray bikes after they’re notified to retrieve them. Meanwhile, the city is planning a road diet and parking protected bike lanes along a popular downtown street, much to the chagrin of some.
National
A sports site talks with NASCAR racer and SoCal native Jimmie Johnson about sparking the “cycling craze” in his fellow drivers.
Washington’s new budget includes several million dollars to fund bike trails throughout the state.
Iowa goes the wrong way on traffic safety, moving forward with a bill that would ban automated traffic cameras in the state’s largest cities.
The jump in bikepacking is driving demand for bike frame bags made by Minnesota’s Cedaero.
Duluth MN business owners complain about plans for bike lanes that would eliminate parking on one side of the street; one businessman uses it as free storage for his auto shop, while another evidently didn’t consider how bike lanes could reduce the need for more spaces in his overflowing parking lot.
A New York woman says Queens’ infamous Boulevard of Death is still dangerous despite recent safety improvements, after her father was nearly hit by a driver while crossing the street; her calls for increased safety at a recent meeting were drowned out by people complaining about the bike lanes.
International
Vancouver’s Modacity offers eight rules of effective bike marketing.
No bias here. A sidewalk-riding Canadian bicyclist receives a trio of tickets after getting right hooked by the driver of a semi.
City Lab looks at the recent study that showed expanding European bike networks could prevent 10,000 premature deaths each year. So just imagine what it could do here in the US, with just a fraction of the bike networks Europe already has in place.
After a British bike rider posts video complaining that an ambulance nearly hit him, the ambulance service responds that he should have pulled over and let them pass. Seriously, bike riders have exactly the same obligation motorists do to get the hell out of the way of emergency vehicles, even if LA drivers seem to forget that.
An Irish father gets a suspended sentence for assaulting a 17-year old boy who was riding his son’s stolen bicycle; no word on why the boy had the bike that had been stolen earlier that day.
Bicycling cafés are gaining in popularity across France.
An Australian driver says leave your phone alone while you’re driving, after nearly running down a bike rider while simply changing songs on her mobile phone.
Uber’s chief rival in Southeast Asia is getting into the bikeshare business, as well.
Finally…
If you’re going to complain about cyclists breaking the law, make sure they actually are first — and don’t use your phone while you’re driving.
And you know a new car is dangerous when even an automotive website says it should be banned from the streets.
Category: Morning Links / Tags: bicycling, cicLAvia, Heart of the Foothills, Los Angeles, the war on bikes
Morning Links: Yours truly gets profiled, Danny Gamboa & Ghost Bikes LA, and LA bike crashes dropping
That’s what happens when you get mad during an interview.
You get labeled as a pissed off bicyclist.
That’s how I was described, accurately enough, in this profile by Jennifer Velez for the LA Taco website.
As I was being interviewed, I felt my anger rising as I described the efforts of Councilmembers Gil Cedillo, Curren Price and Paul Koretz to block much needed bike lanes in their districts. Along with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s failure to back his own Vision Zero and Great Streets initiatives.
So I quickly apologized, calmed down and went on with the interview.
Then I later mentioned that I started this site because I was angry about the sorry state of bicycling infrastructure in the City of Angels. Even if I didn’t know it was called infrastructure back then.
Which only confirmed my pissed off status.
Anyway, it’s worth a read if you want to know who I am and why I do what I do.
If not, then read on.
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It’s not every day I get mentioned in two separate news stories, but I unexpectedly found myself playing a small supporting role in the LA Weekly’s nice piece on Danny Gamboa, the co-founder Ghost Bikes L.A.
And yes, it’s definitely worth a read, as Gamboa has gone from installing ghost bikes to fighting for safer streets so they won’t be needed any more.
I can personally vouch for him as one of the true heroes of Southern California bike advocacy.
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Bike statistician Ed Ryder has been examining the CHP’s SWITRS bike crash data for California and Southern California, which we’ll be taking a look at as the week goes on.
But here’s an interesting chart to get us started, showing a surprising decline in injury bike crashes in Los Angeles County after peaking in 2012; stats for last December are only partial figures, but still suggest a decline from the previous year.
The question is whether the streets are getting safer, or if fewer people are willing to risk riding on them.
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Long Beach police shot a man they originally attempted to pull over for unnamed bicycle traffic violations after he tried to flee, then allegedly fought with an officer and attempted to grab his gun.
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Local
West Hollywood will host a meeting tonight to discuss plans to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians on deadly Fountain Ave, although a road diet requested by some residents appears to be off the table.
Patton Oswalt is one of us, as he bikes along the LA River with his kids to the Spoke Bicycle Café.
Long Beach business people are worried that the May 13th start of the Amgen Tour of California will destroy their business on Mother’s Day. Seriously, if you can’t figure out a way to make money off an event that draws an additional 10,000 or so race fans — male and female — to your street, maybe the event isn’t the problem.
State
Homeless people living along the Santa Ana River Trail wonder where they’ll go as Orange County finishes clearing out the massive homeless encampment. Unfortunately, there’s not enough housing and supportive services to take them in, which means the problem, for them and the community, will just move somewhere else.
A San Diego bike rider suffered a compound leg fracture when he was hit by an alleged red light-running driver.
Coronado’s mass infrastructure insanity clearly hasn’t improved, as a handful of residents come out to rail against a proposed median that would improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, including fears that transients would sit on it. This is the same community that blocked proposed bike lanes that residents complained induced dizziness and was like tattooing their daughters.
Victorville approves plans for a 4-mile class 1 bike path, as well as 7.1 miles of bike lanes.
Sad news from Bakersfield, where a bike rider was killed in a crash after allegedly running a red light in Oildale.
A Santa Cruz-area driver shows his deep concern for the safety of bicyclists by complaining about two bike riders drifting in and out of a bike lane, forcing drivers to swerve into oncoming traffic to pass them, and saying there should be a law against riding two abreast. Never mind that riding two or more abreast is perfectly legal under most circumstance, as well as “drifting” in and out of a bike lane for any number of reasons. Or that it’s also perfectly legal for drivers to slow down and wait until it’s safe to pass bike riders. In fact, it’s required, whether or not they’re in a bike lane.
I want to be like him when I grow up. An 83-year old Bay Area man has ridden up 3,849-foot Mt. Diablo for 500 weeks in a row.
A mufti-clad pseudo Petaluma bike cop pulled over a motorist and demanded personal information and cash for on the spot to pay the fine for the alleged offense. A real bike cop will have a uniform and badge, and will never ask for payment on the spot. Unless he’s asking for a bribe, which is a different matter entirely.
More sad news, this time from Sacramento, where a man was killed riding across a highway to get to a bike path.
National
A former mountain biker turned distance runner recommends micro-dosing with dope to reduce pain and improve performance. Which is now more or less legal in California, as long as you don’t tell the feds.
Bicycling says sharrows don’t actually suck if used correctly, and lists 25 milestones most new cyclists can’t wait to reach. Many of which countless new and old bicyclists have never done, nor wanted to. Myself included.
El Paso, Texas and Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez are in discussions for North America’s first international bikeshare system crossing the Rio Grande.
A Dallas paper questions whether leaving dockless bikeshare bikes on the sidewalk is more than an inconvenience to handicapped people, possibly violating the American’s with Disabilities Act. Good question. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
A Missouri couple are facing manslaughter charges after their dogs fatally mauled an 83-year old neighbor as he was riding his bicycle.
A Minnesota paper looks at ghost bikes in the Twin Cities, which are technically illegal in the state.
St. Paul MN takes a pass on a dockless bikeshare system being installed by its twin city.
Detroit is unveiling a new indoor velodrome with an inflatable roof today; just one of three in the US, including the VELO Sports Center at the StubHub Center in Carson.
Winter fat bike riding is increasing in popularity in Maine.
Nice piece in the New York Times, as a documentary filmmaker describes how getting back on her bicycle saved her life as she went through a separation, then a divorce.
Proof bike riders are tough. A New Orleans man rode several blocks for help before collapsing after he was shot several times.
International
Here’s what happens when city officials don’t back down on bike lanes, as opposition to Vancouver bike lanes has died away, and bikeways are no longer seen as a campaign issue.
Toronto’s Globe and Mail says we can’t assume streets are for cars if we want pedestrians to be safe.
The BBC asks what’s keeping women off bicycles, then points the finger at sexist and rude comments from drivers and male cyclists.
What’s more impressive? That a London management consultant quit his job to fish plastic out of the Thames, or that he built his own DIY floating bike to do it?
UK endurance cyclist Lee Fancourt passed away last week, apparently of natural causes, at just 40-years old; he held the record for the fastest crossing of Europe, traveling 4,300 miles in less than 22 days.
A British man uncovers a 199-year old hobby horse in an abandoned barn; the forerunner of the bicycle was one of just 320 built in 1819, and just one of 12 know to survive.
Former Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher is one of us, too. Although it looks like he could raise his seat a tad.
Life is cheap in Northern Ireland, where a judge said he saw no point in sending a killer driver to jail.
Caught on video: A Dutch bike rider struggles against an intense headwind during last week’s storm. Been there, done that; I’ve actually been pushed backwards by a strong wind, as well as knocked off my bike by a sudden gust.
Alas, poor Yorick! Take a bike tour along the “Danish Riviera” to Hamlet’s castle.
City Lab looks at the long transformation of Paris into a more livable city, cutting driving mode share 45% since 1990, as traffic fatalities have fallen 40%. And if formerly traffic-choked Paris can do it...
Dubai continues to build cycle tracks, with 323 miles planned by 2021.
Caught on video too: An Australian cyclist captures a horrifying first person perspective as he gets stabbed by a road raging driver, after complaining a dangerous pass. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured.
Singapore hasn’t been spared by the scourge of abandoned — and sometimes submerged — dockless bikeshare bikes.
A Scottish writer goes bicycling through the cars and cows and hens and fumes of Kathmandu, feeling like a medieval soldier hacking his way through enemy ranks.
Competitive Cycling
South African cyclist Daryl Impey won Australia’s Tour Down Under; he was tied with Richie Porte after Saturday’s penultimate stage, but was declared the leader after a tie-breaking countback of stage placings, and managed to stay out of trouble on Sunday’s final stage.
Women competing in the Tour Down Under got prize money parity with the men after the South Australian state government pitched in an additional $90,000; Australia’s Amanda Spratt took the general classification as well as Queen of the Mountain.
Pressure is increasing on Team Sky to suspend Chris Froome over his failed doping test for overuse of an asthma drug. Meanwhile, researchers say it’s time to scrap the Therapeutic Use Exemptions that were employed by Froome and Team Sky, for the short and long-term health of the cyclists.
Finally…
Who hasn’t dreamed of one day owning a fat-tired, handlebar-equipped, gyroscopic e-unicycle? Don’t wear a mask when you ride, or you may frighten schoolgirls and start a police investigation.
And more proof bike riders are tough. A 12-year old Aussie boy broke his back in eight places riding his bike off a cliff into a lake, then rode home after being dragged back to shore.
Category: Morning Links / Tags: bicycling, bicycling crashes, BikinginLA, Danny Gamboa, Ed Ryder, Ghost Bikes LA, Jennifer Velez, LA Taco, Long Beach Police Department, Los Angeles, SWITRS
Morning Links: No charges in NorCal triple hit-and-run, Koretz calls climate crisis, and LA on Amazon shortlist
File this under you’ve got to be kidding.
Authorities in Contra Costa County have decided not to file charges against an 83-year old man who kept driving after rear-ending a woman riding a bike last October.
He then returned 40 minutes later, and rear-ended two men riding their bikes in the opposite direction.
But despite being arrested two days later on suspicion of three counts of felony hit-and-run, prosecutors concluded they couldn’t prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
So why even try, right?
Which means that a dangerous driver is once again allowed to remain on the roads.
And drivers are once again reminded that the authorities don’t take hit-and-run any more seriously than they do.
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CD5 Councilmember Paul Koretz teams with fellow Councilmember Bob Blumenfield to introduce a motion calling for a climate emergency response in spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “fierce urgency of now,” in response to the recent fires and mudslides.
Which means he will undoubtedly reverse his position and approve bike lanes on Westwood Blvd and elsewhere on LA’s Westside, to provide a safe alternative to driving and reduce greenhouse gasses.
Right?
Don’t hold your breath.
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Los Angeles has somehow made it onto Amazon’s not-so-short shortlist of cities under consideration for their second headquarters.
However, given that one of their primary requirements is that the chosen city must have a good bicycle network, LA can probably look forward to getting a participation trophy.
Thanks to David Wolfberg for the heads-up.
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Peter Flax sends news that the new bike path bypassing construction in Marina del Rey opens today.
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Local
Chicago Streetsblog writer Steve Vance visits Los Angeles, and says it’s easy to get around by transit and bikeshare.
Curbed editor Alissa Walker lives kid-friendly and carfree in LA.
No irony here. Mar Vista’s dermatologist, neighborhood council member and self-appointed planner says LA needs to approach planning as engineers, rather than social justice warriors. Except when the engineers at LADOT do exactly that, neighborhood NIMBYs and pass-through drivers reject it because it’s not the kind of social engineering they want.
Orphan Black actress Tatiana Maslany is one of us.
The Pasadena Star-News looks at Monterey Park’s approval of a protected bike lane on Monterey Pass Road; as one resident pointed out, it could be the first step in revitalizing the street and getting people out of their cars.
Sheriff’s deputies issued 69 citations for bike and pedestrian safety violations in Santa Clarita on Wednesday, all of which went to motorists. And 46 of which were for distracted driving.
Long Beach restaurant owners are worried about the effect of the Amgen Tour of California’s shoreline start on their Mother’s Day business.
State
A former California resident is re-releasing the book she wrote following her round-the-world bike tour 30 years ago.
This is pretty much the definition of NIMBY. Five Encinitas residents are suing the city to block officials from opening a park gate to give kids a safe route to their elementary schools; they complain that it will be used by people who don’t live in their neighborhood to enter the park.
A Denver poet is delivering handwritten “dreams” by bicycle to subscribers in San Diego.
Visually impaired people from across the US are in Chula Vista for a para triathlete training camp to learn how to be guided by a sighted triathlon partner.
An allegedly drunk Apple Valley bike rider refused medical treatment after dodging a car in one direction, then getting hit by one headed in the other.
A Morgan Hill columnist says hosting a stage of the Amgen Tour of California could put the city on the map.
Bike East Bay is hiring a fulltime outreach coordinator and a trio of part-time interns.
Sad news from Danville, where a 73-year old ebike rider was killed after hitting a speed bump.
National
People for Bikes explains all about ebikes.
Bicycle Times offers advice on how to avoid bicycling burnout.
Bicycling talks to badass winter bike commuters from five cities with tough winters. Although they somehow left out Los Angeles, where riders are sometimes forced to endure partly cloudy days and temperatures in the 60s.
No, this is badass. A man who lost part of his skull years ago in a bike crash is overcoming his fears and finding hope by riding his bike across the US to get on a waiting list for treatment at a San Diego clinic.
A writer for Britain’s Cyclist magazine takes on the world’s toughest climb on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
Portland calls their adaptive bikeshare trial a success. Let’s hope Metro Bike is paying attention; a lot of nontraditional riders could benefit from a program like that.
Caught on video: A writer takes a low-tech bike ride in the Las Vegas rain looking for the latest bike tech.
A Dallas photographer depicts the bike carnage he found looking for dockless bikeshare bikes in the city, while Dallas tells the companies to clean up their act, or else.
International
A woman who wears a size 18 offers advice for other plus-sized bicyclists, or as she calls it, biking while fat.
A Canadian letter-writer says money spent building a bike boulevard would have been better spent providing education for the bike-riding public. Which would do little to protect them from dangerous drivers.
London’s transportation department says reports of a slash in the bicycling budget are wrong, but don’t expect more of the city’s cycling superhighways anytime soon.
Royal-in-law Pippa Middleton looks fashionably annoyed by the London paparazzi as she rides her bike in the cold.
A London HuffPo writer says what shocked her most about taking up bicycling was the support she received from bike-riding strangers.
A travel writer for the Washington Post rides the length of Great Britain, from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
The 125-year old Dutch bike maker Gazelle rolled out its 15 millionth bicycle.
Competitive Cycling
Philippine website Rappler — which has been ordered shut down by the country’s increasingly authoritative government — profiles SoCal’s Filipina-American cycling champ Coryn Rivera.
Australia’s extreme heat is causing organizers of the Tour Down Under to shorten race routes.
The head of cycling’s governing body tells Lance Armstrong to stay the hell out of Flanders, not that he can stop him. Meanwhile, coming clean about being dirty has cost Lance $100 million and counting.
Finally…
Just what every bicyclist needs: a high-tech toilet. Getting hit by a car seems like an extreme way to get out of a murder trial.
And you know it’s a strong wind when you can’t even hold onto your bike.
Category: Morning Links / Tags: Amazon, bicycling, bike lanes, Bob Blumenfield, climate emergency, Contra Costa County, hit-and-run, Los Angeles, no justice, Paul Koretz