We finally know what happened.
Yesterday, we complained about a lack of transparency from the Azusa Police Department, which still hadn’t explained why happened when a motorcycle cop killed a bike rider in a collision in the unincorporated Charter Oak area on Monday.
Now the victim has finally been identified as 67-year old Xueqi Li.
Li was reportedly crossing Cienega Ave at Asherton Ave when he was struck by the off-duty officer, who was traveling east on Cienega on his way home.
The officer remains hospitalized in stable condition.
However, there’s no explanation for why the crash happened. Or why Li’s age had been estimated as anything from his 40s or 50s, or why he was originally identified as a pedestrian.
The collision remains under investigation by the CHP. Anyone with information is urged to call the Southern Division Investigative Services Unit at 323/644-9550.
Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.
Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels.
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This is the downside of riding in the Angeles National Forest above Los Angeles.
ANF is a fabulous place to ride, except for one thing…
"I saw a map that showed where the accidents were and there's no one dangerous spot. The crashes happen everywhere on all the roads." @bikinginla @Pflax1 https://t.co/ElaNF8x0Tv
— Zachary Rynew (@Ciclavalley) February 3, 2022
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Something tells me they could use this in the rest of the country right about now.
Bicycle snowplow, Copenhagen, ca. 1941
Made from two short john delivery bikes attached together with rods. The plow was made of beech, with a 3 mm steel edge, as well as small skids to keep the blade from catching on uneven surfaces. pic.twitter.com/pGMaFnWILa
— Cool Bike Art (@CoolBikeArt1) January 12, 2022
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Mitt Romney was one of us, riding a bike during his Mormon mission in France in 1968.
Mitt Romney in France, late 1960s pic.twitter.com/QTRAJG3pKb
— The French History Podcast 🇲🇫 (@FrenchHist) February 3, 2022
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. A British county councilor complains that a decision to invest the equivalent of $13.5 million in new bikeways is “not money well spent,” arguing that it doesn’t make sense to spend 10% of the transportation budget on bicycling when only 1% commute by bike. Which is exactly why more people don’t.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Police at Louisiana State University are looking for a theft suspect who was last seen riding away on a bicycle.
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Local
Two men face murder charges in the fatal shooting of a young mother outside bike rental shop on the Venice Boardwalk in December 2020.
State
The new federal infrastructure bill will require California to spend 15% of Highway Safety Improvement Program funds on protecting vulnerable road users, under a provision for states where bicycling and pedestrian deaths make up over 15% of overall traffic deaths.
Despite a business owner insisting she never sees anyone using San Diego’s new 30th Street bike lanes, a recently installed bike counter shows an average of 282 people using them on a daily basis.
The death of a recumbent rider outside a Fresno park last month was due in part to a 2008 decision making it difficult to access unless you’re in a car.
Berkeley ripped out a block of brand new barrier protected bike lanes after discovering that truck drivers couldn’t access a medical center campus. Which they probably should have figured out before they built it.
A Gold Country writer sets out for her first bike ride in a couple years, and surprises herself with how much she enjoys it.
National
Travel site Lonely Planet recommends the best bike trails for your next trip to Bozeman, Montana.
That’s more like it. A pedaling Minneapolis pastor is on a one-man mission to get bicycle traffic reports on the local public radio station, rather than just the usual auto-centric traffic updates.
The state’s decision to take back a San Antonio, Texas roadway to halt a planned road diet is called a big blow to safe bicycling in the city.
A New Jersey man faces charges of vehicular homicide, speeding, reckless driving, careless driving and improper passing for killing a 62-year old woman riding next to another person; he was doing 75 mph in a 50 mph zone, and trying to pass on a blind hill when he swerved back into the victim to avoid a driver coming from the opposite direction.
DC is pledging to build another ten miles of protected bike lanes this year, with a goal of doubling the current 24 miles of protected lanes within the next few years.
She gets it. The head of Georgia’s Department of Transportation blames bad driver behavior for a jump in traffic fatalities, saying nine out of ten times a driver is at fault.
International
Canada’s Global News offers advice on how to keep riding your bike through the winter. Some of which even applies down here in sunny California.
A London ebike rider captures the moment he was barely able to avoid a bikejacker, who sprinted towards him from the side of the road; another person had his bicycle stolen at knifepoint in Birmingham.
The Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain and Luxembourg all pay people to commute by bike, so why doesn’t the US?
Competitive Cycling
Pez Cycling News recalls pro cyclists who were never the same after suffering serious crashes.
Finally…
That feeling when you almost run over Oprah on your moped. Or when a mortician refuses to ride a bike in a bike lane.
And here’s the perfect note to end the week on.
"Bicycles deliver the freedom that car commercials promise". pic.twitter.com/OKivbUaGyl
— ⛑Accident Bandicoot⛑ (@CarHelmets) January 29, 2022
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
