Tag Archive for BMX

Former BMX champ Pat Casey killed in motocross crash, and driver charged for killing ebike-riding Carlsbad mom

June 8, 2023 / / Comments Off on Former BMX champ Pat Casey killed in motocross crash, and driver charged for killing ebike-riding Carlsbad mom

Tragic news from Ramona, California, where former BMX champ Pat Casey was killed performing a motocross stunt.

Multiple sources are reporting that Casey died after attempting a jump Tuesday afternoon at the Slayground Motocross Park in the San Diego County city.

The 29-year old Riverside resident won medals at the 2012 and 2013 X Games, and Casey was the first rider to successfully execute the “decade backflip” and “double decade backflip” in competition.

He leaves behind his wife Chase Casey, along with their eight-year old son and seven-year old daughter.

Photo by Rodolfo Clix on Pexels.

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The driver who killed an ebike-riding mom in Carlsbad last year has finally been charged in her death.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports 42-year old Lindsey Turmelle pled not guilty to misdemeanor vehicular homicide at her arraignment on May 26th in the death of 35-year old Christine Embree.

Embree was run down by Turnelle’s massive SUV while she was riding with her 16-month old daughter, who was miraculously uninjured

Turnelle faces just one year in county jail if she’s convicted.

Meanwhile, she sentenced Embree’s daughter, who turned two in April, to life without her mother.

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A San Diego man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was trapped under a dump truck for nearly an hour.

The victim was riding at an offramp to the 905 Freeway near Airway Road and Britannia Blvd in Otay Mesa when he was run down by the driver around 4:33 am Tuesday.

There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or the identity or condition of the victim.

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Calbike reports on the bills that are moving forward in the state legislature this year that could affect active transportation, including —

  • SB 50, which would halt police stops for minor traffic violations to stop pretextual policing
  • SB 712 requires landlords to allow at least one micromobility device — bicycles, scooters, etc — per unit.
  • AB 6 would give Gov. Gavin Newsom another chance to sign a bill putting his climate money where his mouth is by requiring regional transportation agencies to prioritize and fund transportation projects that significantly contribute to meeting regional and state climate goals.
  • AB 7 mandates climate-first transportation planning.
  • AB 73 would give Newsom yet another opportunity to sign a bicycle safety stop bill, aka stop as yield or Idaho Stop.
  • AB 361 allows public agencies to enforce parking violations by taking photographs of vehicles blocking bike lanes, although it would not allow individuals to submit photos.
  • AB 413 would require daylighting at intersections by prohibiting parking, standing or stopping within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
  • AB 645 creates a speed cam pilot program for three cities each in Northern and Southern California, including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale.
  • AB 825 legalizes sidewalk riding on any street without a marked bikeway, while requiring bike riders to share the space responsibly and limiting speeds to 10 mph.
  • AB 1266 eliminates bench warrants for minor traffic violations, including for bicyclists and pedestrians.

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Nice to see more progress being made in the San Gabriel Valley.

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

Clearly, we’re not even safe from motorists on separated bikeways, as a 50-year old woman had to be medevaced to the hospital when she was run down in by a pickup driver while walking on a Sitka, Alaska bike path.

Northern Ireland’s former Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams used to be one of us, but he’s given up bicycling after drivers repeatedly shouted sectarian abuse and tried to run him off the road.

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

A British man died when he crashed his modified ebike into a 16-year old boy, who suffered a broken leg and internal injuries.

Police in the UK are looking for a coupe ebike riders who allegedly chased bicyclists in two “concerning” incidents.

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Local 

While the state legislature considers legalizing sidewalk riding, the LA County Board of Supervisors moved on their own to make it legal to ride your bike on the sidewalk in unincorporated areas of the county.

Actor, humorist, author and woodworker Nick Offerman is one of us, as he talks with The War on Cars podcast about riding a bike in Los Angeles and New York, and “why the best way to explore an unfamiliar city is at the speed of a good walk.”

Culver City police have arrested a 27-year old man who rode off on a bicycle after stealing a man’s cellphone at knifepoint near the Ballona Creek bike path west of Overland, Ave.

Santa Monica has unveiled a new protected intersection at 17th Street and Ocean Ave, part of the surprisingly controversial 17th Street protected bike lane.

 

State

Huntington Beach is conducting a survey for the city’s new active mobility plan. Thanks to James for the heads-up. 

The San Luis Obispo Tribune questions whether the head of the local Libertarian Party belongs on the county Bicycle Advisory Committee, when he wants to abolish bike lanes and treat bicycles like motorcycles; then again, he doesn’t want to make people pay their taxes, either. Sounds like he doesn’t belong on any board, period.

Streetsblog talks with bike-riding San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who shows up to demand safer bikeways in and out of her district.

 

National

PeopleForBikes concludes their series of the 15 best arguments to advocate for bicycling; click here to read part one and part two.

Bicycling offers advice on the ebike skills you need to learn before your first road or trail ride. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Bicycling also recommends the nine best bikes you can buy right now, electric and otherwise. Again, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

According to a women’s website, you should ride 12-14 miles per day at a moderate pace in order to lose a substantial amount of weight by next month, at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds per week

Portland is questioning whether “bike-friendly speed bumps are worth the trouble and treasure.”

Two 17-year old boys have been busted for a series of violent armed robberies on a Houston bike path, as police look for at least one other suspect.

A Michigan high school student thanks the community for helping him get his new bike back hours after it was stolen, just one day after he was given it by the local police.

A Michigan TV station marks yesterday’s 7th anniversary of the Kalamazoo massacre, when a stoned driver plowed into nine members of a local bike club, killing five people and seriously injuring the others; Charles Pickett Jr, was convicted on 14 charges, and will be 90 years old before he’s eligible for parole. Which is still too damn soon.

Speaking of Bicycling, the magazine calls New Bremen, Ohio’s Bicycling Museum of America, with its collection of over 8,000 bikes, a bucket list item for hardcore bike nerds and casual fans alike. Once again, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

A Massachusetts man is riding 1,000 miles from Oxford, Ohio to Boxford, Mass, four years after doctors diagnosed him with terminal Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, giving him just two to five years to live.

The New York Times says make way for the bike bus, as more families are commuting to school on two wheels.

This is who we share the road with. A 26-year old New York man faces charges for killing a pedestrian and injuring four other people, including an 18-year old ebike rider, after allegedly drinking all day, and getting behind the wheel with a BAC nearly twice the legal limit.

A North Carolina pastor is 2,300 miles into a 3,400-mile bike ride across the US; his ride has helped raise $600,000 for an anti-abortion group.

A car-hating Tampa, Florida man replaces his with an ebike after being selected in the city’s ebike voucher lottery.

 

International

Momentum Magazine makes the case for why cruiser bikes are perfect for city riding, as well as how to build a 15-minute city centered on bicycles.

Bike Radar has advice on how to make your components last longer to prolong the lifespan of your bike. Take good care of your frame and it can last longer than you do, because everything else is replaceable.

The Week argues the pros and cons of Britain’s Low Traffic Neighborhoods, the equivalent of this country’s Slow Streets.

Life is cheap in England, where a woman calls for drivers to pay attention after the driver who her down from behind while she rode her bike, leaving her with life-changing injuries, wasn’t even charged.

No surprise here, as nearly 90% of bike thefts in the UK go unsolved, with thieves facing charges in just 2% of thefts. I’d be very surprised if the US numbers are even that high. 

Kenya’s First Lady is one of us, as Rachel Ruto says riding her bike takes her back to her happiest memories as a young girl pedaling down dusty roads with her friends.

 

Competitive Cycling

Danish pro Mikkel Bjerg took the lead in the eight stage Critérium du Dauphiné after winning the time trial.

You could win a Cannondale SuperSix Evo that was ridden by Ecuador’s Jonathan Caicedo in last month’s Giro for just 25 bucks a pop in a raffle benefitting the Los Angeles Bike Academy.

Russian cyclist Savelii Laptev has been suspended from the Astana development team for supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on social media.

 

Finally…

Who needs bikewear when — and where — you can ride naked? That feeling when a thief compliments your bike before stealing it.

And how to go viral riding your grandson’s BMX.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Huntington Beach BMXer Tyler Kanarr died after hitting ceiling beam at Vans Skatepark in Orange

March 7, 2020 / / Comments Off on Huntington Beach BMXer Tyler Kanarr died after hitting ceiling beam at Vans Skatepark in Orange

Word is just breaking that a Huntington Beach man died last week following a freak accident at an Orange County skatepark.

According to KCBS-2, 25-year old Tyler Kanarr was riding at the popular Vans Skatepark in Orange on February 25th when he somehow hit a ceiling beam, and suffered a gash in his neck from a florescent light.

When firefighters arrived, they found t-shirts wrapped around his neck in an effort to stop the bleeding.

Despite reportedly doing everything they could to save him, Kanarr lost too much blood before they could get him to the hospital directly across the street.

Sadly, he died just one day after his birthday.

A celebration of life will be held on March 21st to remember him, while a crowdfunding page started by friends of his parents has raised nearly $4,400 in four days, exceeding the $4,000 goal.

The skatepark remains closed. And yes, his family has retained a lawyer.

While BMX is a dangerous sport, something like this should never happen in an indoor skatepark.

Especially not one owned by a major corporation like Vans.

This is at least the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in Orange County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Tyler Kanarr and all his loved ones.

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

Stolen bikes and the jerks who take them, 9-year old San Marcos BMX bike flipper, and South African bicycle hip hop

February 17, 2020 / / Comments Off on Stolen bikes and the jerks who take them, 9-year old San Marcos BMX bike flipper, and South African bicycle hip hop

Today’s a holiday, in case you hadn’t noticed. Which is easy to do if you didn’t get it off. 

But my wife did, surprisingly enough.

So we’re going with sort of a Morning Links lite today, with most of the weekend’s bike news, so I can get a little sleep before she wakes me up too damned early in the morning; we’ll catch up on the rest tomorrow.

Today’s photo is what’s left of a bike after thieves stripped it, leaving its mangled carcass behind. 

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Today’s common theme is stolen bikes and the jerks who take them.

A Santa Cruz man got his bike back three years after it was stolen, after deputies recovered it when the wanted criminal they were chasing abandoned the bike he was riding, and they were able to track down the real owner.

Oregon sheriff’s deputies bust a major schmuck who scammed people out of bikes they were trying to sell online — including a 12-year old boy. See hell, special place in.

Gotham’s ebike crime wave continues, as a 20-year old delivery rider was stabbed in both legs and robbed of his bicycle, cellphone, jacket, around 70 bucks and a pizza.

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Online viewers are flipping over nine-year old San Marcos BMX rider Connor Stitt.

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Introducing my new favorite South African hip hop video.

Seriously, who can top rhymes like this?

When I hop on the metal and push on the pedal, there’s a certain peace that I get that’s really good for my mental.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on. And on. 

A Willits CA woman intentionally ran over a man on a bike who she had been arguing with; she was arrested after fleeing the scene, along with her husband and son-in-law, who were booked as accessories after the fact for helping with her coverup.

The New York Post’s notoriously anti-bike columnist says car culture could be squashed and America covered with bike lanes if Michael Bloomberg gets elected president. But somehow seems to think that’s a bad thing.

Some jerk Down Under was apparently proud of himself for tossing a drink on a woman riding a bike from a passing car, posting the video online.

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

A bike-riding man dressed like an old-time railroad engineer injured two women on San Francisco’s Embarcadero in a pair of unrelated, seemingly random attacks.

The bike-riding serial groper in Davis CA is still on the loose after attacking a third woman.

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Local

No bias here. A Pepperdine University professor, who should know better, repeats the unsupported myth that more people will die because emergency personnel can’t get through traffic, than will be saved by LA’s Vision Zero and Mobility Plan 2035. Never mind that no one has shown it has actually happened anywhere. Or that the mobility plan is about modernizing the city’s transportation plan, not reducing traffic deaths.

CicLAvia is returning to Glendale and Atwater Village this summer, with a short 3.5-mile route.

South Pasadena Councilmember and AQMD (Air Quality Management District) board member Michael Cacciotti gets it, fighting the battle for clean air by riding his bike and taking the bus everywhere.

A Brea motorcycle dealer is branching out into ped-assist ebikes and accessories.

 

State

Good for him. After a 14-year old Turlock special needs boy was beaten up and had his shoes and bike by group of boys, he responded by organizing a bike ride calling for an end to bullying.

Sacramento’s popular American River bike path finally reopens, three years after it was closed by a landslide.

Residents of Arcata are raising funds for a woman who suffered a serious spinal injury when she was struck by a driver while riding her bike; the crowdfunding page has raised nearly $29,000 of the $33,000 goal in four days.

 

National

A writer for HuffPo calls for better bike and pedestrian planning and infrastructure to make it safe for people of any age to walk and bike, to reduce the decline in children riding bikes.

A Honolulu writer calls for fixing a 750-foot gap in a pair of bike paths that makes it dangerous to ride a bike between two side-by-side neighborhoods.

A Portland family proves that yes, the entire family can ride their bikes to church every week. Maybe someday we’ll get to a point where that not surprising to anyone.

The Washington state senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a partial Idaho Stop Law, allowing bike riders to treat stops as yields, but not red lights as stop signs.

Thousands of Colorado residents ignored the snow on the ground, and took to their bikes for Winter Bike to Work Day.

J. Patrick Lynch calls our attention to a little automotive schadenfreude, as thousands of Colorado hockey fans demand refunds after major traffic jams forced them to miss large parts of an outdoor NHL match. Or are they really just mad LA’s Kings beat the hometown Avs?

An upstate New York town supervisor calls for a bike path leading to a new bridge after two deadly crashes. Yet somehow assumes most bicyclists don’t get that riding in traffic can be dangerous, despite being one himself.

New York is installing concrete barriers that beautify the city and protect bike riders at the same time.

After a New Jersey man suffered a major brain injury when he was hit by a drunk driver, and got tired of living on food stamps, he set out on a recumbent to ride across the country; he’s now on his sixth trip across the US in just over two years.

A Jacksonville, Florida sports writer takes part in the Champions Ride with a peloton made up of NASCAR drivers and crew members to promote traffic safety. And gets a hand to the finish line from ride founder Jimmie Johnson.

 

International

Shimano has come out with an updated electronic gear shift you can retrofit your bike with for a cool $2,300.

No bias here, either. A Toronto columnist says the city’s Vision Zero isn’t failing because drivers need more safety education, but rather, they break the law because they’re frustrated by gridlock caused by all those bike lanes and lower speed limits. Which doesn’t explain why drivers broke the law before all those things, though.

British foldie Gocycle is re-entering the American market, offering magnesium frame bikes starting at $2799, and carbon frames at nearly twice the price.

A writer for The Guardian takes a 600+ mile ride along bike trails through the Seine, Loire and Rhône valleys, experiencing a view of France inaccessible by cars.

An Indian man rode his bike nearly 375 miles to meet his favorite Bollywood star at an awards show, even though the actor may not even attend it; he also holds a certificate for riding his bike 24 miles in one hour — with no hands.

If you’re looking for Asian connections to get a leg up in your career, you could do worse than an early morning ride with Singapore’s Rapha Cycling Club.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews looks at the long road back for Olympic silver medalist Rigoberto Urán following his crash in last year’s Vuelta, which left hm with a broken collarbone, broken ribs, shattered scapula and a punctured lung.

Eighteen-year-old Turkish cyclist Azize Bekar is making the jump to a Belgian road cycling team, while aiming her sights on representing her country in Olympic mountain biking.

 

Finally…

Bikes are a great way to get to your train — but stop riding once you get on. Drinking in public and biking under the influence, but at least he wasn’t driving this time.

And the next time you think it’s too windy to ride a bike in LA, watch this.

 

 

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

Morning Links: Formerly paralyzed BMX champ dances at his wedding, and bicycling as a mobility tool

January 3, 2018 / / 4 comments

In today’s best news story, 26-year old Australian BMX champ Sam Willoughby danced with his new wife at their wedding in San Diego, just 15 months after he was paralyzed from the neck down in a training accident.

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Important piece in the Guardian, which notes that riding a bicycle is easier than walking for most disabled people, and that many disabled commuters travel by bicycle.

Which make bike lanes an important mobility tool, rather than an obstacle for the disabled as bike lane opponents commonly accuse.

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This is what happens when a professional BMX racer misjudges his jump over a fence. And is lucky to avoid getting impaled.

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Local

Disappointing news from DTLA, as Arts District coffee shop/bike shop The Wheelhouse closed unexpectedly at the end of the year, though the owners promise to make a comeback somewhere, in some form. Meanwhile, Calabasas-based 10-Speed Coffee, run by the owners of the bike-themed Pedaler’s Fork restaurant, will be opening a new location in Santa Monica this April.

Megan Lynch forwards a South Pasadena news story about the Rose Parade, including photos of bike riders accompanying a bicycle-themed float.

A look back at what could have been, on the 118th anniversary of the famed California Cycleway, an elevated wooden bikeway that was supposed to link Pasadena with Downtown Los Angeles but was never finished.

 

State

Seriously? The new mayor of Solana Beach in North San Diego County says she doesn’t support efforts to get more people on bikes, because she can’t show real estate using a bicycle. Maybe she should try a little harder. Or not judge everyone else by what she isn’t willing to do.

 

National

Less than a year after taking up riding, newly retired NASCAR favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. vows to ride his bike 50 to 100 miles a week, even with a new baby on the way. Anyone who has a new baby is probably thinking “Good luck with that.”

A bicyclist is riding from New York to the CES show in Las Vegas in just 10 days to promote the Elektron Gen 2 e-assist wheel with a beta version of the new Google Assist installed. Thanks again to Megan Lynch.

Sounds like fun. Arizona bike riders welcomed 2018 with a New Year’s ride through the desert under the supermoon.

Utah may consider adopting the full Idaho Stop Law, which would allow bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, and red lights as stop signs. And potentially go one step further than California, which is set to consider a bill that would allow bicyclists to treat stops as yields, but still have to stop for red lights.  Thanks to Eric Rogers for the heads-up.

Dockless bikeshare finally has Dallas TX residents talking about bikes.

The head of a Wisconsin bike nonprofit says every kid who wants a bike should have one. Not to mention a safe place to ride it.

It’s now officially legal for drivers to pass bicyclists in a no passing zone in Illinois, and for cyclists to ride on the shoulder of a roadway. Even if they may have to wait for the state to thaw out first. It would be legal for drivers to briefly cross the yellow line to pass bicyclists in California if Governor Jerry Brown hadn’t vetoed an earlier version of the three-foot passing law that contained that provision.

Life is cheap in Michigan, where the life of a bicyclist killed by a drunk driver is only worth a lousy nine months in jail.

Auto-centric Michigan is finally getting around to updating the laws to protect people on bicycles, including a five-foot passing law and banning distracted driving. Although based on the previous story, it sounds like tougher penalties for DUI and fatal crashes might be a good idea, too.

Baltimore drivers are complaining about protected bike lanes, saying the streets are too narrow to accommodate a buffered bike lane, a parking lane and two travel lanes. Although it sounds like what they really want is to get their parking spaces back.

A kindhearted Florida woman crowdsourced funds to buy an 80-year old man a three-wheeled ebike after learning he walked eight miles each way to get to his job.

 

International

Lawrence Solomon, head of a climate-change denying Canadian think tank, is back with yet another bike-hating diatribe, urging cities to rip out bike lanes “before more innocent people get hurt.” Never mind that studies have shown that bike lanes — and especially protected bike lanes — improve safety for all road users.

A British bike advocacy group says a biased online survey of that found drivers want bike riders to have insurance and wear hi-viz is, well, biased. Meanwhile, the head of that advocacy group was stunned to get his stolen Brompton back after someone found it abandoned at a train station.

Caught on video: A Brit bicyclist is nearly squeezed off the road in a punishment pass by a bus driver. And he responds with the same language I’ve used under similar circumstances, which is why I usually post my videos with the sound off.

The husband of an English woman killed in a crash with a bicyclist calls for a new law banning dangerous or careless cycling that results in injury or death. Even though the rider who hit his wife was sentenced to 18 months behind bars, which is more than most drivers get.

A man in the UK is looking for the Good Samaritans who helped him when he broke his arm after his bike was crowded off the road by a passing driver.

A bighearted stranger bought a British boy a new bike after the one he got for Christmas was stolen at knifepoint in a bike-jacking.

The deputy director of Zimbabwe’s national intelligence agency was posthumously named a national hero after he was killed in a traffic collision, despite killing a bike rider in a crash 16 years earlier.

This is why you should always carry ID when you ride. Australian authorities are trying to identify a man who collapsed while riding his bike. I wear my Road ID whenever I leave home, whether or not I’m riding; it doubles as my medical alert bracelet.

A travel writer calls Taiwan a bicycling paradise.

 

Competitive Cycling

Eight-time world BMX and mountain bike champ Caroline Buchanan is expected to make a full recovery after she was critically injured in a one-car crash in Australia’s New South Wales state over the weekend.

Pro cyclist Kristian Sbaragli learned the hard way not to leave his team bike unattended when he stops for coffee after a training ride.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to use a bike as your getaway vehicle, at least show a little respect and rob something better than a dollar store. Don’t extort money from the driver that hit you.

And seriously, don’t wear your headphone turned up so loud you can’t hear an oncoming train.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: Jonathan Weiss on LA and BMX, the LABAC meets tomorrow, and the improper use of a bicycle

October 3, 2016 / / One comment

My apologies for the continued problems with email notifications for subscriber to this site. We’re still working on getting it fixed.

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Jonathan Weiss, longtime LA Bicycle Advisory Committee, has discussed the history of BMX racing with us before, including the birth of the sport right here in Los Angeles. So when I received the following email from him over the weekend, I wanted to share his thoughts with you.

I have a local history addiction.  I’m into bicycling.  And I hopped off curbs on my Schwinn as a kid in suburban Detroit.  So, when I learned that Palms Park in the nearby Palms district of West Los Angeles was the birthplace of BMX, I had to do something about it.  I could imagine and identify with some these local kids (and others they attracted) racing up, down, and around some hills on their modified Schwinn Stingrays like motocross racers and with races sanctioned (entrance fees, awards and even insurance) by Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department.  This nearby park was the Elysian Fields, the first field of dreams, the epicenter of the first X-Games sport.

So, I put together some of the story, I set up a Facebook page, and I got in touch with some of those who started BMX racing.  That’s the fun part of history.  The tougher part is when some of the participants and eye-witnesses to history, those who I’ve been lucky enough to get to know, start to go.  On October 1st, another left us – Rick Twomey.

From me, and from fans from around the world, thanks for sharing your memories with me and on the Facebook page, Rick.  And thanks for what you’ve left behind.

If we’re lucky enough to have the 2024 Olympics in Los Angeles – with BMX competition in Long Beach – I know I’ll be thinking of you, innovator, sponsor, and author Rick Twomey, and of Rec and Parks’ Ronald Mackler, who left us in 2010, and of Scot Breithaupt, who left us last year.

Note: I failed to mention that Weiss left the BAC earlier this year. We all owe him a round of thanks for his years of service to LA’s bicycling community.

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Speaking of the BAC, the next bi-monthly meeting of LA’s only official voice for bicyclists is tomorrow night in Hollywood.

bicycle-advisory-committee-agenda-2016-10-04

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If you missed it, bicyclists sadly lost their lives in both Palm Springs and Yorba Linda over the weekend.

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Local

The Los Angeles County Bicycling Coalition’s Tamika Butler spoke about Planning While Black at the NACTO Designing Cities Conference last week, with a presentation that reportedly brought down the house.

CiclaValley complains about serious city inaction on clearing the dirt hazard in the Forest Lawn bike lane.

Mickey Rourke is one of us, as he takes his dog for a ride in WeHo.

Santa Monica police arrest a man for attempting to steal a number of bicycles from the Bike Center after employees wrestled him down.

Plans are in the works for a single, integrated bikeshare system that would include Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Long Beach and UCLA, with possible expansion to Culver City and the South Bay.

Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes and Palos Verdes Estates make plans to work together to address traffic and safety issues across city borders on the peninsula, as South Bay bicyclists push for greater safety on the roads.

The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition is holding their October meeting tonight.

Bike the Vote LA is hosting a ballot party in DTLA tonight to discuss choices for next month’s phone book-sized ballot.

 

State

Get your pizza delivered poolside by bicycle in Palm Springs.

The San Luis Obispo District Attorney proves it is in fact possible to charge a driver who wasn’t texting or under the influence with vehicular homicide for killing a cyclist — in this case, a champion triathlete and the wife of a Cal Poly dean.

The story of Benicia cops buying a new bicycle for a teenager who was walking four hours a day to get to and from work has gone around the world.

Napa County tries rumble dots, rather than rumble strips, to keep drivers from drifting off the road, and protect bike riders on the shoulder.

Sad news from Modesto, where a bike rider was killed in a collision Friday night.

A horrifying story from Redding, as a man believes he was attacked while riding his bike to the drug store, but can’t remember what happened after suffering a broken arm and eye socket, along with multiple skull fractures.

 

National

A government website says sharrows don’t make bicycling in urban areas any safer.

Yes Magazine says women are being left behind even in the most bike friendly states, and offers suggestions on how to change that.

A sports website looks back on the Tour de Trump, the American bike race sponsored by the GOP’s current presidential candidate for a two whole years back in the ‘80s.

Colorado Springs CO residents can’t seem to grasp the concept of a road diet, let alone give time for traffic to adjust.

A Polish bike rider sets a new record for bunny hopping 3,461 steps up the former Sears Tower in Chicago.

A Chicago letter writer says bikes should be banned from the city’s busiest streets, insisting that bicyclists somehow make traffic worse by never obeying the law on streets he claims are paid for with gas taxes. Never mind that public taxes pay for city streets, traffic is caused by all those cars, and most drivers aren’t all that law abiding, either.

A Connecticut man returns home after a 12,124 mile ride around the perimeter of the US to help ensure veterans have enough to eat.

A new study finds that every $1,300 spent on New York bike lanes adds another year of life to the overall population of the city.

A New Orleans bike rider plans to keep riding even after she was the victim of a hit-and-run.

A Florida man faces criminal charges for putting a milk crate on his bike.

 

International

The next bus driver who honks at you may not be one.

Stunt cyclist Danny MacAskill offers advice on how to fall off your bike, while Bike Radar tells you how to hose it down.

Caught on video: A London pedestrian berates a bicyclist for riding through a crosswalk when people are using it.

A former Premier League soccer player plans to run and ride 1,000 miles linking 44 UK soccer stadiums.

A one-legged Irish cyclist sets the world’s first Paralympic hour record.

Here’s your chance to cross the Rubicon and take a month-long European bike tour in the steps of Julius Caesar.

A Dutch study concludes bike riders will usually choose the most comfortable route rather than the most direct.

California’s former Governator is busted for biking in the Munich rail station.

Bicycling continues to grow around the world, as Iranian cities Isfahan and Neishabur work to accommodate bicyclists, though Tehran lags behind.

New Zealand bicyclists push for a repeal of the country’s mandatory helmet law, even though the country’s leaders appear to have no intention of doing so.

 

Finally…

Who was that meth-carrying masked man on the lightless bike? It’s one thing to carry a joint when you ride; another to carry the entire plant with you.

And this is not the proper use of a bicycle, no matter how pissed off you are.

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L’shanah tovah to everyone nursing a Rosh Hashanah hangover this morning.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Founding father of BMX found dead in Indio; man fixing bike shot dead by LASD deputies

July 6, 2015 / / One comment

Sad news from Indio, as one of the founding fathers of BMX riding was found dead in a tent over the weekend.

A member of the BMX Hall of Fame, Scot Alexander Breithaupt had organized some of the first races while growing up in Long Beach in the 1970s, before going on to win a national championship and founding SE Racing bikes.

There was no sign of foul play.

He was featured in a 2005 documentary about the sport.

………

A Hawaiian Gardens man was shot and killed by sheriffs deputies reporting to a report of a prowler last night.

According to his wife, he was just fixing his bicycle when the officers arrived. Although she doesn’t explain why he jumped a fence in a apparent attempt to get away.

No weapon was found at the scene, and no reason was given for the shooting.

Meanwhile, the LA Times calls on Gardena to release the dashcam video of officers shooting the unarmed brother of a bike theft victim two years ago.

………

People for Bikes offers six reasons to watch the Tour de France, which kicked off on Saturday.

Aussie Rohan Dennis got a yellow bike to go with the yellow jersey he won in stage one of the Tour de France, while GoPro offers a first-bike view of the first stage.

Two of the four pre-race favorites are down, if not out, after just the second wind-swept, rainy stage in the Tour de France. Cavendish appeared to tank it at the end of the second stage, and blames everyone else.

Joaquim Rodriguez took stage three, as Chris Froome finished just behind and slipped on the yellow jersey this morning.

VeloNews says Andrew Talansky is riding back into form just in time. Bicycling asks if it’s safe to root for Tejay van Garderen or if he’ll break our hearts again. And looks back 40 years to when a fan punched the great Eddy Merckx, and kept The Cannibal from winning a record sixth Tour.

Turns out there’s another race going on right now. And unlike the other one, an American is in first place, as US Nat. champ Megan Guarnier takes the leader’s jersey after the second stage of Italy’s Giro Rosa.

………

Local

A bike-riding Pomona boy was seriously injured when he was hit by a car Sunday night.

A legally blind Santa Clarita vet rides a four-wheeled ‘bent led by his guide dog, and was honored as the 2014 National Veteran Volunteer of the Year.

Hundreds kick off the 4th with a bike ride in Long Beach’s Belmont Shore.

A 21-year old Harbor City man was killed in a bike-by shooting. Proof bike riders aren’t always the victims. Or the good guys.

Sounds like fun. Bike-themed restaurant Pedaler’s Fork hosts the 10-Speed Grinder ride, complete with BBQ lunch, on the 19th.

 

State

Inspirational story from Oakhurst, as a vet who lost both legs in Afghanistan — and nearly his life — is riding across the US on a recumbent handcycle to raise money for the Semper Fi Fund.

 

National

The Economist says America’s roads remain extremely dangerous. No shit.

Bike Radar discusses the nine things you should never ask a female bike shop employee.

Riding cross-country on a solar powered e-bike.

The Spokane sheriff concludes a deputy violated policy by driving 70 mph on a surface street without lights and siren. But somehow, that had nothing to do with the death of a teenage bike rider who went over his handlebars as the speeding car passed within one foot of him.

A Montana paper looks at how national bike routes bring bike tourists and cash to rural towns.

A Denver couple explain the benefits of going car-free.

Even tiny Norway, Maine — population 5014 — gets bike share before we do.

A West Virginia paper looks at one of the riders critically injured in the first responders bike race that took the life of a Brazilian police inspector.

Virginia police write a whopping 12 tickets for violating the state’s new three-foot passing law last year, but at least that’s up from two tickets for unsafe passing the year before.

 

International

The physics of how your bike can keep going without you.

A Canadian bike collector rescues an 1889 bicycle he found in a landfill.

The Toronto Star says too many bike riders are getting doored, and says it’s time for bike lanes everywhere. Those same stories could have been written right here.

A cyclist tries bicycling the path of the Thames on a path not intended for bicycling.

A British lord says a survey saying people don’t like spaces shared by cars, bikes and pedestrians is proof they’re a dangerous and costly folly. After all, there’s no point in relying on facts or anything.

A Brit driver is allowed to remain on the road with three-and-a-half times the number of points against his license for moving violations than the law allows. No point in taking dangerous drivers off the streets, either.

A record-setting adventurer rides 102 miles through the Scottish countryside on a Penny Farthing.

An Irish cyclist says everybody hates cyclists. Even cyclists.

A 10-minute mini-documentary explains how bicycles are helping to liberate women in war-torn Yemin.

Now that’s more like it. The man in charge of managing roadways for an Australia’s Victoria state says you can’t build your way out of congestion, and recommends getting a new job or riding a bike to avoid gridlock.

Aussie cyclists ride topless to protest the country’s mandatory helmet law. No, not like that.

 

Finally…

That’s one way to stop a breakaway. The CHP is called out to deal with a bull blocking a roadway — and a bike race; seems to be an epidemic of that these days. When you’re a convicted felon carrying coke, marijuana and a .357 on your bike, don’t ride salmon.

And don’t forget your ankle monitor when you ride.

 

Category: Law Enforcement, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,
 
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