Ghost bike and rally for fallen WeHo bike rider, the worst states for bike commuters, and LA pays dearly for Deadly del Mar

July 15, 2025 / / Comments Off on Ghost bike and rally for fallen WeHo bike rider, the worst states for bike commuters, and LA pays dearly for Deadly del Mar
Day 196 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Let’s start with an update on 26-year old Blake Ackerman, the lawyer and bike commuter killed by a hit-and-run driver in West Hollywood last Thursday.

A ghost bike will be installed tomorrow at 9 am in a small ceremony at Fountain Ave and Gardner Street. The public is welcome to attend.

A larger vigil will be held on Friday, July 18th, starting at 6 pm at Fountain and Gardner, followed by a short march to West Hollywood City Hall for a rally and press conference. Everyone is urged to attend and participate.

And I do mean everyone.

And yes, that includes me this time.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding page to raise funds to support Blake’s mother and sister has raised nearly $160,000 of the newly increased $200,000 goal.

There’s still no word on the identity of the heartless coward in a white, older-model BMW sedan who left Blake Ackerman in the street.

It’s also worth taking some time to look over WeHo’s two-year old Vision Zero Plan. Because Fountain isn’t the only street that needs to be fixed before it’s too late.

Again.

Photo of Blake Ackerman in better days from GoFundMe page.

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A new study from a bike insurer ranks Texas as the nation’s second-worst state of bike commuters, behind only South Carolina.

California comes in at a relatively safe 18th best. Which really makes you wonder just how bad the other 32 states behind us must be.

Vermont was rated the best state for bike commuters, followed by Oregon, Minnesota, Alaska and West Virginia.

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They get it.

Streets For All says Los Angeles is caught in a money-draining spiral of spending millions to pay for deaths and injuries caused by our dangerous streets, rather than spending to fix the streets and avoid the damn injuries in the first place.

As a prime example, they call out Playa Vista’s Deadly del Mar, aka Vista del Mar, where 20 people have been killed in the past 20 years.

That includes five deaths since 2017, when the city briefly installed safety improvements following a nearly $10 million settlement for the death of a 16-year old girl, which were promptly ripped out at the order of former “World Climate” Mayor Eric Garcetti to appease entitled commuters from Manhattan Beach.

(Click this link if Elon Musk’s “improvements” keep the video from embedding.)

Twitter post

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An anonymous source forwards a Reddit post highlighting a problem too many people fail to consider, myself included, as a Deaf Scottish woman posts a plea for a little more consideration from bike riders on shared trails.

(Click on the post if it doesn’t embed in full)

Reddit post

I have always relied on a shouted “passing on your left” to warn others of my approach. But neither that nor a bike bell will do any good if the other person can’t hear you.

She then followed up on the over 100 replies her post received with this.

“Thanks all for the comments and insights, really helpful!” she said. “Not intending to diss cyclists or anything; I know people have opinions of them.

“My post genuinely was just asking for a bit of respect/shared responsibility although some people don’t seem to get that my being deaf, they seem to think it’s somehow my fault for nearly getting spooked by someone coming behind me.”

As the person who emailed me points out,

It is an important issue to raise because hearing people don’t often think about the fact that sometimes yelling or a horn is not going to be effective. Deaf people are more likely to respond to lights, but even that might not work if you’re coming up behind someone on a path in the open so slow down and avoid close passes of people moving more slowly than you are.

My emailer also pointed out something else I was familiar with, but maybe don’t consider as often as I should, referring to a story based on the Reddit post from Scotland’s Daily Record, which seemed more biased against bicyclists.

They also lower cased “Deaf” when the OP clearly identifies as upper case “Deaf” (which is not just a medical condition, but a culture and thus capitalized when someone identifies as part of that culture).

It’s very easy to go through life — and yes, riding a bicycle — seeing it only from the lens of someone who is hearing and sighted. But it’s important that we also consider the needs, safety and dignity of those who aren’t.

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Bike Talk talks tactical urbanism in two cities, with diametrically different results.

Bluesky post

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Okay, that is a little close.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Despite the Ontario provincial governments efforts to rip them out, most Toronto residents support bike lanes and mixed-use roads.

Huh? A rightwing commentator says the solution to Britain’s immigration crisis is to make all aspiring British citizens pass the country’s cycling proficiency test.

A Dublin, Ireland journalist says that as a new bike rider, she’s “astonished” by the amount of aggression she saw from drivers on her daily commute.

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Local 

Next City says Denver solved it’s sidewalk problem by reclaiming responsibility for fixing broken sidewalks from property owners, suggesting it could be a solution for Los Angeles, aka “the city of broken sidewalks” in the words of the late, great Donald Shoup.

Streetsblog calls attention to a series of Metro meetings continuing this week and next to discuss the NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit project, and the Sepulveda Transit rail project to connect the Valley with West Los Angeles, where rich Bel Air residents are demanding an inefficient monorail so no one will have to dig a subway tunnel under their very expensive homes.

Santa Monica hosts yet another in a continuing series of bicycle and pedestrian safety operations in SoCal cities, this time on Friday, July 18, 2025 from 5 am to 8 pm. Even though they say it’s targeted at dangerous driver behaviors, police are legally required to enforce the law equally against all violators, regardless of mode of travel. So ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line so you’re not the one who gets ticketed. 

West Hollywood sheriff’s deputies issued just 46 tickets during their recent bicycle and pedestrian safety operation, but it doesn’t break down who got the tickets or why.

 

State

Laguna Beach is looking for public input on a proposal to build a mountain bike pump track.

San Francisco wants to expand the Embarcadero protected bike lane, which would require removing up to 30 parking spaces and 15 palms trees. Which is okay because palms are just giant grasses that suck up water and don’t shade anything. 

She gets it. A San Francisco letter writer says “If you oppose bike lanes, pedestrian improvements or expanding public transit, you’re voting for more congestion.”

Residents of the Bay Area’s Alameda County can enter a lottery to receive up to $1,500 towards the purchase of an ebike from the local energy company. To which LA’s DWP responds <crickets>.

Sacramento city officials are upset that the city received a failing grade in People For Bikes new City Ratings, arguing they should have been rated higher. Never mind that Sacramento was rated a full ten points higher than lowly Los Angeles, and not one city official here even gave a damn. 

 

National

Authorities in Oregon are using drones to search for a 52-year old man described as an experienced mountain biker, who disappeared after leaving on a ride Friday morning; searchers found his cellphone in his car, which could have helped pinpoint his location. Which is a reminder to never, ever leave yours behind when you ride. 

Thousands of bike riders took part in the annual 200-mile Seattle to Portland bike ride.

It’s now illegal for Utah drivers to block a bike lane. And yes, Deseret News, that does make it safer for everyone. 

A New Mexico letter writer says most drivers are really polite and considerate, and have your best interests at heart — but if you want to stay safe, you need to dress like a DayGlo clown. Sadly, he may have a point. About that last part, anyway. 

That’s more like it. An Indiana festival combines bicycles, whiskey and bluegrass. So who’s going with me?

An MIT transportation researcher and self-identified car enthusiast says you can love cars, and still support public transportation and decarbonization.

Six hundred people from 37 states descended on New York to bike the full 400 miles of the Erie Canal to mark the canal’s 250th anniversary.

A Manhattan community board called out New York’s mayor for cutting bike and bike lanes out of his auto-centric redesign of the city’s iconic 5th Avenue.

Seriously? A study from a Florida law firm shows that Bay County is the state’s most dangerous county for bicyclists — but instead of demanding safer streets or better drivers, a Florida political site says “wear a helmet.”

 

International

For once, police in the UK are asking for someone riding a bicycle to come forward when they’re not in trouble, as police in Yorkshire look for a bike rider who may have witnessed a driver kill a pedestrian.

An Irish food delivery rider settled a lawsuit over a dooring for the equivalent of $70,000, which required surgery to fix a broken little finger.

Dutch advocacy groups says forget helmets and bicycle speed limits, and upgrade the infrastructure, instead.

A pair of New Zealand Olympians are riding 2,500 miles through Africa to train for the ’28 Games while raising funds to buy bicycles for people in the towns they’re riding through.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Tour de France peloton stormed into Tuesday’s rest day with a major upset, as Irishman Ben Healy took the yellow jersey off Tadej Pogačar’s back, moving from nearly four minutes back to become the first Irish cyclist in yellow since Stephen Roche in 1987.

Britain’s Simon Yates celebrated Bastille Day by winning the Tour’s stage 10 yesterday, coming out on the right end of a long-range breakaway that was slowly whittled down from 28 cyclists to just six at the end.

Bike Radar visits France’s volcanic Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which hosted the finish of Monday’s Tour de France stage for the first time in the race’s 122-year history.

A Mexican news site celebrates the country’s newest cycling star, after 21-year old Isaac del Toro won last week’s Tour of Austria, to go with his second place finish in the Giro.

 

Finally…

You know things have gone too far when even Jesus objects to ebikes. If you see a pedestrian in a bike lane ahead of you, should you blame the government or deploy torpedos?

And when you’re riding a bike on the 4th of July while smoking crack, and with an outstanding warrant on a meth charge, put a damn light on it, already.

And don’t be a famous musician, for Pete’s sake.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Anger boils after deadly WeHo hit-and-run on Fountain Ave, and 79-year old San Diego man injured in crash with bike rider

July 14, 2025 / / Comments Off on Anger boils after deadly WeHo hit-and-run on Fountain Ave, and 79-year old San Diego man injured in crash with bike rider
Day 195 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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A handful of protesters turned out on Friday evening to demand safety improvements on Fountain Ave, following the Thursday night hit-and-run that killed 26-year old Blake Ackerman.

According to WeHo Times,

Local cyclist and advocate Nicholas Renteria organized a grassroots demonstration at the intersection of Fountain Avenue and Gardner Street, where the deadly collision occurred on Thursday, July 10, around 9:47 p.m. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the victim, Blake Ackerman, 26, was riding westbound on Fountain when he was hit by an older-model BMW sedan, which fled the scene. The victim was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.

Anger has built following Ackerman’s death because individuals and advocacy groups have demanded action on the deadly corridor for more than a decade.

Plans have finally begun moving forward over the past few years, but are hung up by the usual demands to persevere parking at the expense of human lives.

As calls for accountability grow louder, local leaders have pointed to upcoming initiatives like the Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project, which aims to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety with measures such as protected bike lanes and wider sidewalks. A community meeting about the project is scheduled for August 19 at Plummer Park.

Renteria hopes awareness leads to action before another life is lost. “This isn’t a fight between drivers and cyclists,” he said. “It’s a fight between people and a government that’s not being responsive.”

In addition to the community meeting next month, plans are underway for a ghost bike to be installed in the coming days.

You’ll know more when I do.

Photo: Streets For All and Measure HLA stickers on a bicycle parked at Lowes Home Improvement in Mid-City LA Sunday afternoon.

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A 79-year old man was seriously injured when he was struck by a bike rider while walking in a bike lane in San Diego’s Clairemont neighborhood.

The victim was hospitalized with a skull fracture and a brain bleed.

No word yet on what he was doing in the bike lane, or why the bicyclist was unable to avoid him.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Another Canadian province appears to be going the wrong way, as the provincial government of Alberta is “actively reviewing” bike lanes that have raised the ire of some residents, with the government questioning both current and planned bike lanes that “reduce road capacity.”

Police in Australia are looking for six men who brutally beat a man riding a bicycle in an apparent road rage attack; the occupants of two vehicles chased a pair of bike riders following an argument, before jumping the curb and beating one of the bike riders with baseball bats. The other rider somehow got away.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A New York teenager riding an ebike was killed a hit-and-run driver while he was being pursued by police who suspected him of a knifepoint robbery; a 28-year old driver was arrested for the hit-and-run shortly later.

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Local 

Streets For All offered their July newsletter, including news that a total of $7 million has been approved to move forward with necessary technical and environmental clearance work on the proposed extension of the Ballona Creek bike path.

 

State

Police in Huntington Beach busted a bike thief who stole a bait bike valued at over $2,000, enough to qualify for felony charges. Yet the LAPD still won’t use bait bikes, following outdated advice from the City Attorney’s office that it could be considered entrapment

 

National

Bike Magazine recommends a selection of the year’s best bike locks, depending on your needs.

Outside highlights seven of the best bikepacking trip across the US. None of which are in California.

A hit-and-run driver left an Oregon woman lying in a ditch all night after they crashed into her bike sometime Saturday night; she was found by a passerby after 7 Sunday morning suffering from serious leg, facial, and other injuries. The driver should be charged with attempted murder when they find them for making the conscious decision to risk the victim’s life by leaving her there to die. 

Sad news from Nevada, where the founder of Bob’s Bikes died following a battle with prostate cancer; retired mechanic Bob Crane had repaired and given away more than one thousand bicycles for needy kids.

A Wyoming website recommends putting a bell on your mountain bike, as well as shouting and carrying bear spray, to reduce the risk of deadly bear encounters. Mountain lions seem to pose a bigger risk on SoCal trails; I can’t recall a mountain biker mauled by a bear down here, even though we have a lot of ’em. 

Now even the trees are out to get us. Someone riding a bicycle was killed in Urbandale, Iowa when a tree fell on them as they were riding on a trail.

Forget the Tour de France. America’s only Penny Farthing bike race rolled for the 11th time over the weekend, with 50 competitors from the US and around the world competing on “wheels are bigger than most 5th graders.”

 

International

A Vancouver Grand Fondo resulted in yet another mass casualty event, as one person was killed and two others injured when a driver somehow plowed into a group of bicyclists.

Police in an Ontario city put bicyclists on a stationary bicycle so they could get a feel for what it’s like to be passed by a driver at the legally mandated one-meter distance (approximately three feet); most felt shaken after the experience, with several wanting the mandatory passing distance increased to two meters. Although it would have done a lot more good to put motorists on that stationary bike, so they would understand just how it feels.

That’s more like it. A drunk and stoned British driver was sentenced to nine years and three months behind bars for killing a 70-year old woman as she walked her bike across the street; his license was already suspended at the time of the crash for a previous DUI, among other offenses.

Cargo bikes dominated the recent Eurobike show, resulting in plans for a separate cargo bike-only show.

Irascible TV celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey completed his first triathlon in over a year in Luxembourg on Sunday, after he was seriously injured crashing his bicycle in June of last year.

The Malay­sian Natio­nal Cycling Federation calls out the lack of sharing on the country’s roads, where bicyclists have the right to ride but “tolerance between cyclists and motor vehicle drivers is declining.”

Bicycling rates are up in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, New Zealand, rising 40% since 2017. But like most American cities, there’s room for even more growth by tapping demand from people who don’t own bikes, or lack confidence to ride them.

 

Competitive Cycling

European road champ Tim Merlier sprinted to victory in Sunday’s ninth stage of the Tour de France to secure his second win of this year’s Tour, after the peloton reeled in Mathieu van der Poel following a day-long breakaway; van der Poel dropped to sixth in the GC standings despite Sunday’s long solo ride, while race leader Tadej Pogačar held onto the yellow jersey.

Pogačar’s chances of wearing yellow in Paris took a hit on Sunday, however, as key domestique João Almeida was forced to abandon, two days after breaking his ribs in a fall.

Tensions are starting to build in the Tour peloton, with Pogačar objecting to feed zone tactics from the Visma-Lease a Bike team that seemed intended to force him to defend the yellow jersey before he wanted; Pogačar was also caught on camera pushing Visma’s Matteo Jorgenson when Jorgenson got in his way, preventing both from getting their bidons.

Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini repeated as Giro champion after winning last year, securing a slim 18-second margin of victory on the final day, as Germany’s Liane Lippert won the stage in late breakaway.

Australian Sarah Gigante was thrilled just to make the Giro podium after a long and challenging comeback from iliac artery endofibrosis surgery.

Baja California’s Isaac del Toro proved he’s too legit to quit, showing his second-place finish at the Giro was no fluke by winning the 75th Tour of Austria.

 

Finally…

How to stop worrying and love the bicycle. How to play AirTag with a bike thief.

And that feeling when bike riders get buzzed by a cop traveling at twice the speed limit, yet commenters blame the people on the bikes, anyway.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Update: 29-year old man riding bicycle killed in early morning crash in South LA’s Vermont Square neighborhood; driver also injured

July 13, 2025 / / Comments Off on Update: 29-year old man riding bicycle killed in early morning crash in South LA’s Vermont Square neighborhood; driver also injured

A man riding a bicycle was killed by a driver early this morning in the Vermont Square neighborhood of South Los Angeles.

According to KTLA-5, the victim was riding east on West Vernon Avenue at South Figueroa Street shortly before 1 am Sunday.

A driver traveling south on Figueroa slammed into him, then continued on to hit several parked cars.

The victim, identified only as a 29-year old man, died at the scene.

The driver was badly injured, and remained at the scene.

The station reports that local residents rushed out to assist the victims after the crash, and attempted to lift the driver’s car off the other man. It’s unclear if they succeeded, but at least he didn’t die alone.

The driver was extracted from his car, a while Honda, and taken to a hospital suffering from facial injuries.

There is video from the Citizen app showing the aftermath of the crash, but portions are fairly graphic, so be sure it’s really something you want to see.

Police were unsure this morning whether speed or alcohol were involved. But given the early morning hour and the damage to multiple vehicles, it seems likely the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed.

The intersection is controlled with a red light, but it’s unknown at this time who had the right-of-way.

This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fourth we’ve learned about in the City of Los Angeles.

He was the fifth bike rider to die in LA County in just the past two weeks.

Update: The victim was identified at Jonatan Perez, no city of residence given. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jonatan Perez and his loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Bike rider killed in West Hollywood hit-and-run on deadly Fountain Ave; one third of 2025 SoCal bike deaths hit-and-runs

July 11, 2025 / / 2 comments

This time it’s personal. And yes, I’m mad as hell.

Once again, someone riding a bicycle has been murdered by a hit-and-run driver, this time in West Hollywood.

And this time, at an intersection I’ve passed through literally thousands of times, on foot, on bike and in a car.

It was about 10 pm last night when a notification on the Ring app said someone had been struck by a driver at Fountain Ave and Gardner Street; video from the scene showed sheriff’s deputies had blocked the entire street in both directions, which is never a good sign.

That was confirmed today, when we learned the victim didn’t make it.

According to multiple sources, the victim was riding west on Fountain around 9:47 pm when he was run down from behind by the driver, who continued west on Fountain without stopping.

The victim was taken to the trauma center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died of his injuries. He has not been publicly identified.

Investigators are looking for a white, older-model BMW sedan, which will likely have a shattered windshield on the passenger side. There is no description of the driver at this time.

Fountain has long been one of the deadliest streets in West Hollywood, along with Sunset Blvd just a few blocks north. Gardner connects them at the east end of the city, and has been the scene of fatal hit-and-runs at the intersections with both streets less than two weeks apart.

And if that’s not a problem, I don’t know what is.

Fountain is also a designated bike route, where bike riders are encouraged to ride by the presence of sharrows, regardless of experience. And despite drivers who frequently exceed the posted 25 mph speed limit, sometimes by two or three times.

Plans have been in the works for at least two years now to fix Fountain, but have been held up by the usual endless series of public meetings and redesigns, as if residents concerned about parking somehow know more about designing safe streets than the people trained to do it.

The next meeting is planned for August 19th at 6 pm, in the Plummer Park Community Center.

And yes, I will do my best to be there.

Anyone with information related to the collision is urged to contact traffic investigators at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station at 310/855-8850. Anonymous tips can be called into Crimestoppers at 800/222-TIPS (8477), or by texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads).

This is at least the 24th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

This was also at least the eighth SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers since the first of the year.

But at least the Sheriff’s Department told us about it right away, unlike the LAPD.

Update: The victim has been identified as 27-year old Blake Ackerman, no city of resident given. 

According to a crowdfunding page to support his mother and sister,

Anyone who knew Blake was lucky to call him a friend. Many of his friends became an extension of his family. Blake and his family welcomed everyone with open arms, into their home, their gatherings, and their family dinners. No matter who you were, you were always welcome.

Blake was full of limitless potential. He lived well and accomplished so much in his all-too-short years. He was a born leader, he served as student-body president and vice president at Beverly Hills High School, undergraduate vice president at USC, senior articles editor for the Loyola Law Review, and president of Loyola’s Surf & Ski Club. He also co-founded a human-rights advocacy group dedicated to prison-to-school education.

Prior to graduating law school, Blake externed for Judge Autumn D. Spaeth of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In 2023, he earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School, then clerked for Judge Clyde J. Wadsworth of the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals in Oahu, where he met his soulmate, Torie. Together they moved back to his hometown of Los Angeles, and Blake joined Morgan Lewis as a litigation associate. Even in his busy professional life, Blake’s caring heart extended to pro bono work, he arranged one final matter to help someone in need, and his firm has honored to carry it forward in his memory.

As of this writing, the page has raised over $126,000 of a $150,000 goal.

Photo of Blake Ackerman from GoFundMe page

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Blake Ackerman and his loved ones. 

Thanks to Brian Nilsen for the heads-up. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Homeland Security labels bicycling a “violent tactic,” and someone please buy Malaysia some time trial bikes

July 11, 2025 / / Comments Off on Homeland Security labels bicycling a “violent tactic,” and someone please buy Malaysia some time trial bikes
Day 192 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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The Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning that just riding a bicycle or skateboard at a protest demonstration can be considered a “violent tactic,” creating a pretext for an aggressive police response.

According to Wired,

Threat bulletins issued during last month’s “No Kings” protests warn that the US government’s aggressive immigration raids are almost certain to accelerate domestic unrest, with DHS saying there’s a “high likeliness” more Americans will soon turn against the agency, which could trigger confrontations near federal sites…

Protesters on bicycles, skateboards, or even “on foot” are framed as potential “scouts” conducting reconnaissance or searching for “items to be used as weapons.” Livestreaming is listed alongside “doxxing” as a “tactic” for “threatening” police. Online posters are cast as ideological recruiters—or as participants in “surveillance sharing.”

At least DHS knows there’s a “high likeliness” they’re going to piss a large segment of Americans off, if they haven’t already.

But if you’re not outraged by that warning, read on.

Vera Eidelman, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, says the government has no business treating constitutionally protected activities—like observing or documenting police—as threats…

“Exercising those rights shouldn’t be justification for adverse action or suspicion by the government,” Eidelman says. Labeling something as harmless as skateboarding at a protest as a violent threat is “disturbing and dangerous,” she adds, and could “easily lead to excessive force against people who are simply exercising their First Amendment rights.”

Whether you’re on the right or left, or — like me — somewhere in between, we all have a 1st Amendment right to protest the actions and policies of our government.

We also have a right, under state law if not the Constitution, to ride a bicycle on a public street, as long as you don’t create a disturbance. Even if you’re riding it to or at a protest, or while filming the police.

I took the local cops to court as editor of my high school newspaper to establish that we did, in fact, have the right to photograph them in public, as long as we didn’t interfere with their actions.

So I’m pretty well versed on that one.

Just riding your bike at a protest like the one above could invite an aggressive police response.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up. 

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Anyone want to start a GoFundMe?

The Malaysian road cycling team’s hopes of winning gold at the Thailand SEA Games this December have seriously dimmed after the country’s National Cycling Federation turned down their request to buy six new time trial bikes.

They need roughly an additional $140,000 to match the latest tech employed by regional rivals Thailand and the Philippines, but only have about $38,000 left in the budget after competing in the Asian Cycling Championships earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the head of the aforementioned Malaysian National Cycling Federation reminds everyone that bicyclists have a right to the road.

Yes, even there.

He urged the government to protect bike riders from death threats on the road, as well as on social media, following a viral confrontation between bus drivers and a group of bicyclists.

It would be nice to be protected from that here, too.

On both counts.

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Bicycling highlights the best deals from yesterday’s penultimate Amazon Prime Day.

And a writer for Cycling Weekly says the only earbuds she’ll wear while riding, because they allow her to be aware of her surroundings, are on sale now for Prime Day, which enters it’s final day today.

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

The British government is pausing the rollout of one type of floating bus stop following complaints from bus passengers, especially blind passengers, that they had to cross a bike lane in front of bike riders who too often didn’t stop for them as required.

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Local 

The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition is hosting a Beginner’s Bagel Ride on Sunday. Which works whether you’re new to bicycling or bagels.

 

State

San Diego has reopened Bachman Place, a popular shortcut from the Mission Valley to Hillcrest neighborhoods, after two years of reconstruction, with a sidewalk-level bike lane in one direction and a buffered bike lane in the other.

California’s newest lift-served mountain bike park has just opened at Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood, just 90 minutes outside of Los Angeles. Then again, it can easily take more than 90 minutes to cross Los Angeles just to get outside of it. 

Sad news from Santa Cruz County, where a 78-year old Soquel man was killed when he somehow veered off the road on his Specialized ebike, and crashed into a dirt embankment.

The Santa Cruz Country community of Scotts Valley hosted a kids bike parade for the 4th of July.

Apparently, San Francisco is no safer for pedestrians than it is for bike riders, as 400 people took to public stairways to raise funds and call for safety improvements, after pedestrian deaths reached a ten-year high last year.

 

National

Seattle Bike Blog says that despite “five years of process and some scary collisions,” Seattle’s mayor removed safety improvements from an “already watered-down” street project at the insistence of wealthy homeowners along the route.

Nevada US Senator Catherine Cortez Masto celebrated former Reno resident Greg LeMond’s newly minted Congressional Gold Medal.

A Washington mountain biker used his own helmet straps to slow the bleeding and save his own life after falling over 500 feet down a mountain side.

After a New York PE teacher was quoted in the local paper saying she’d like to start a bike program for her students, a kindhearted retired physical education professor from her alma mater dipped into her own pocket, and mailed a check to cover the cost of the bicycles.

A British artist has just 17 days to bike around New York, while drawing a map of key points in all five boroughs.

Hats off to 23-year old Floridian Alisa Cade, who stopped at 2 am to help a total stranger who had been knocked out following an ebike crash, and could have been there for minutes or hours; the victim ended up hospitalized with multiple brain bleeds, a broken skull and a fractured pelvis. But she’s alive, thanks in part to a Good Samaritan who wasn’t afraid to help.

 

International

Momentum looks at ten “incredible” bike bridges around the world. None of which are in Los Angeles. Or the US, for that matter. 

Seriously? A British Columbia letter writer says she and her husband are very concerned about the “dangerously high speeds” of ebikes on a local trail, while noting that the bikes have a top speed equivalent to just 18 mph, which most people can do on a decent road bike without any electric boost.

A British bike industry trade group is trying to identify the challenges and barriers that keep women from advancing and being underrepresented in the field. In other words, exactly the kind of program the Trump administration is committed to stamping out.

Police in the UK say they’ve seized over 500 illegal electric bikes, scooters and motorbikes so far this year, claiming they’re cracking down on their use in serious crime, reckless criminals and antisocial behavior, rather than law-abiding bicyclists.

Life is cheap in Ireland, where a taxi driver was fined the equivalent of $1,168 for breaking a bike rider’s leg when he ran him down from behind, after concluding the driver’s vision was obscured by a roundabout — but at least he said the fact the victim wasn’t wearing a bike helmet was of “no relevance.”

In a first for the city, a Parisian bike lane was officially dedicated in honor of a 27-year old man who was killed by a driver while riding his bike there nine months earlier. But you’ll have to subscribe to read more than the first few paragraphs. 

Iran has finally confirmed the arrest of an 18-year old French and German citizen who disappeared after hostilities with Israel broke out as he was bicycling through the country last month; two other French citizens have been held for three years in conditions “akin to torture.”

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch pro Lorena Wiebes won her second Giro Donne stage of the week, beating Marianne Vos and Liane Lippert in a sprint to the finish, after crosswinds blew the peloton apart, as Marlen Reusser held on to the pink leader’s jersey.

Ireland’s Ben Healy soloed to an easy victory on stage 6 of the Tour de France — easy being a relative term — by breaking away from the breakaway group with about 26 miles to go, while American Quinn Simmons and his long locks finished an “agonizing” second.

The yellow jersey switched hands, or rather torsos, once again as mountain bike star Mathieu van der Poel reclaimed the Tour leader’s jersey from yesterday’s leader Tadej Pogačar.

Former Welsh cyclist Luke Rowe wrote in his soon-to-be-released memoir that Chris Froome once stormed onto the Astana bus, grabbed Vincenzo Nibali by the throat and told him “to never fuck with him or his team again” following a crash he evidently blamed the Italian for. Although social media seemed to think the anecdote strained credibility just a tad.

An insurance site looks back fondly to the good ol’ days when The Cannibal was supported by a fleet of orange Volvos.

 

Finally…

Yep, that just about sums the situation up.

And what’s a 4th of July celebration without a stuntjumper?

Instagram post

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

San Francisco embarrasses LA with speed cam warnings, and last remaining US Tour winner gets Congressional Gold Medal

July 10, 2025 / / Comments Off on San Francisco embarrasses LA with speed cam warnings, and last remaining US Tour winner gets Congressional Gold Medal
Day 191 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

In news that should surprise absolutely no one, a new report from San Francisco shows just how many motorists drive at dangerous speeds.

As California’s first city to install speed cams, San Francisco issued almost 132,000 warnings to people caught on camera driving 11 mph or more over the posted speed limit since the cams were installed in March; actual speeding tickets will start being issued next month.

That’s just four months, and in just 50 locations throughout the entire city of over 800,000 people.

Which suggests that there are a hell of a lot of people who didn’t get caught —  or maybe didn’t get caught yet — simply because they did their speeding in some other location.

But that’s still about 132,000 more warnings than Los Angeles has issued, since the City of Angels continues to drag its feet on installing speed cams.

After all, we don’t want to interfere with anyone’s God-given right to use a heavy right foot on an open stretch of roadway.

Or one that’s not, for that matter.

………

Congratulations to Greg LeMond, as America’s last remaining Tour de France winner finally received a long overdue honor by becoming the first cyclist to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

He’s also just the tenth athlete honored with the Congressional medal, joining such sporting notables as Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Billie Jean King and Jack Nicklaus.

LeMond became the first American to win the Tour in 1986, then came back to win twice more in 1989 and 1990, after overcoming a near-fatal shotgun blast to the gut.

Conspicuously not honored were ex-Tour de France winners and notorious dopers Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis, the latter of whom has largely been forgiven after owning up to his actions, and the former who just refuses to go away.

………

Amazon Prime Days continue to dominate the news, as numerous sites urge you to buy more bike stuff to help pay off Jeff Bezos wedding and buy his new wife another new yacht or two

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A New York judge has ruled that the city’s mayor is free to rip out a protected bike lane in Brooklyn, lifting a previous injunction preventing the removal.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

An Ontario, Canada teenager was charged with reckless driver and violating the province’s bike helmet law, after the 17-year old was struck by a driver while riding salmon and without a skid lid, which is required for any bike rider under 18.

………

Local 

Listeners to public radio station LAist’s AirTalk program share their joyous memories of riding a bicycle through the streets of Los Angeles while growing up, and question whether those days are gone forever.

 

State

The former owner of one of the nation’s first ebike stores describes how she went from Orange County bike shop owner to founding the Bellemont Project to promote ebike safety.

Fullerton caves to the Hallmark-ization of America, hosting its 3rd Annual Christmas in July Bike Ride on Friday, July 26th.

Chula Vista becomes the latest city to crack down on ebike riders, adopting what leaders say is the strictest ebike regulations in San Diego County.

Seriously? A beauty salon owner in San Diego’s Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood called for the removal of a new bike lane, saying the loss of curbside parking will put her customers in needless danger by making them walk cross the street. Never mind that the bike lanes are there to improve safety for everyone. Or that if it’s not even safe to cross the damn street, the problem isn’t the bike lanes. 

Sacramento is building an entire new bridge to replace a never-opened bike and pedestrian bridge connecting two major pathways, after the city’s engineer of record refused to sign off on the construction because the bridge wasn’t built to contract specifications.

 

National

Streetsblog examines the GOP’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” and finds what it calls five of the ugliest transportation policies, including the unceremonious death of the bike commuting benefit, along with just about every a number of other green policies.

People For Bikes credits itself with halting dozens of harmful bike bills in “a critical year for bicycle legislation,” including anti-bike bills in New York, Illinois and yes, California.

Tragic news from Arizona, where a 75-year old man died from his injuries, over a year after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike, with the cops blaming him for allegedly turning in front of the driver.

The US version of The Sun says “certain road users” in a “major US state” no longer have to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Except they’re actually talking about bike riders in the “major state” of New Mexico, which ranks all the way down at 36th in population. And it’s not like many motorists come to a full stop, anyway. Or any, for that matter.

A Denver TV station warns its viewers after a retiree was scammed out of $2,000 using Zelle while trying to sell an old bicycle on Facebook.

A new report from a Denver attorney group revealed that most of the city’s bicycling collisions occurred between 8 am and 9 am, and 4 pm and 5 pm, and on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

A Colorado attorney and cycling safety educator tries to clear up confusion over that state’s Stop As Yield Law, which allows bike riders to treat stop signs as yields and red lights like stop signs, as long as it’s safe to proceed. Count me among the confused, since I didn’t think Colorado had adopted the red light portion of the law.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. A Birmingham, Alabama man is facing reckless manslaughter charges for killing two people in separate collisions, first crashing his car into an ATV ridden by a 13-year old boy, followed by fatally running down a 30-year old woman riding a bicycle just five months later.

 

International

A new London campaign is urging elected officials to make bicycling more accessible and inclusive, under the banner Dare to Dream: A Bike for Every Londoner, even as the city has some of the UK’s most dangerous streets for bike riders.

The family of a 71-year old London man called for the “immediate deployment of speed and road traffic cameras” at the “notorious” intersection where he was struck by a driver while riding his bike, dying five days later, adding “no one should suffer this heartbreak.”

Over one hundred people are preparing for an “epic” 290-mile ride from Cleckheaton to London to remember the late Member of Parliament Jo Cox, who was assassinated in 2016, as well as marking the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the UK.

 

Competitive Cycling

Defending champ Tadej Pogačar won the day on Wednesday by finishing second in the time trial, 16 seconds behind winner Remco Evenepoel; the second-place finish was enough to put Pogačar in the yellow jersey with a 42-second lead over Evenepoel, with Frenchman Kévin Vauquelin third in the GC standings, 59 seconds behind.

Two-time champ Jonas Vingegaard had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, dropping more than a minute off the pace and saying afterwards he just didn’t have the legs and had no excuse for his performance.

Canadian cyclist Michael Woods says it’s crazy that officials haven’t mandated protective gear and other safety policies for cyclists; he calls for protecting riders by lowering speeds, decreasing peloton size, reducing distraction, and rethinking the relegation system — or they may have to race in hockey gear.

Velo examines what’s changed with racing bikes over the past decade, comparing Chris Froome’s Pinarello F8 with Pogačar’s Colnago V5Rs.

A Florida man says he finished the Race Across America, aka RAAM, to keep a pledge with his father that if he didn’t quit the race, his dad would stick with his treatment for stage 4 prostate cancer.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can become the official Bike Path Mayor — or maybe your cat can, anyway.

And you can put your tush on a weird-looking saddle for the low, low price of over $360.

But only if you live in Europe.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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