I’m going to cut it a little short today, after I just fell asleep while typing, and work up to find three screens of single-spaced commas in the middle of this post.
We’ll catch up on the rest tomorrow.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.
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Court documents confirm what we previously learned about the road rage murder of rising boxer Hannah Rapp outside San Antonio, Texas last week, even if prosecutors aren’t calling it that.
According to investigators, Rapp was riding with her boyfriend when they were passed closely at a high rate of speed. He gestured and yelled at the driver, who slammed on his brakes, then reversed at high speed, slamming into Rapp and killing her.
The evidence contradicts the story told by the driver, 31-year old Charles Medina.
Court documents obtained by ABC13 allege that when Medina was questioned by a deputy responding to the scene, he said he passed two cyclists whom he thought were flagging him down. Medina said he then braked and slowly reversed but did not see Rapp until the last moment before he hit her, records show.
Medina told deputies that he hit Rapp at “15 miles per hour,” according to court records. But investigators suggested evidence from the scene suggested otherwise.
Too often, we only get the driver’s version of events following a fatal crash, because the victim is unable to tell their side. And as this document shows, drivers will paint their actions in the best possible light, consciously or otherwise.
Yet even with the evidence pointing to Medina’s intentional act, he remains charged only with manslaughter.
Maybe someone can explain that, because I can’t.
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It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from our old friend Peter Flax, who calculates that a Los Angeles resident could save $13,600 a year by switching from a gas-powered car to an ebike.
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Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Boston man provided the very definition of a major schmuck when he was caught on security camera passing a man using a walker while riding his bike on the sidewalk, then rushing toward the man and pushing him to the ground after the pair appeared to exchange words.
A 25-year old Amazon worker was charged with two counts of felony assault after he deliberately rode his cargo ebike into a 79-year old pedestrian after exchanging words with the man.
A Latvian social media post complains about rude bicyclists not giving a proper warning when they pass someone on the sidewalk — although one bike rider said some people even complain when he uses his bell.
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Local
Two “young people” were seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver in Long Beach while riding “motorized bicycles” Saturday evening; one was treated for a moderate injury, while the other suffered critical but non-life-threatening injuries.
The CHP reports a pickup driver hit someone riding a bicycle in La Puente Sunday afternoon, but there’s no information about the victim or their injuries, or whether the driver was cited.
State
San Diego’s new ebike restrictions go into effect next week, banning children under 12 from riding ebikes, which the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition says goes too far, suggesting the city should focus on safer infrastructure for ebike riders, instead. I have to disagree with the bike coalition on that one; while the city should build safer infrastructure, I think kids 11 year old and younger are too young to handle the added power and speed of an ebike.
A local website offers a guide to the best mountain biking in Big Bear, beyond the bike parks.
National
A Portland TV station offers 94 not-necessarily safe for work photos from that city’s World Naked Bike Ride, which drew hundreds of people in in various degrees of undress; riders rolled naked through the streets of St. Louis, too.
Sad news from San Antonio, Texas, where a man died after he crashed when his bike hit a patch of loose gravel, a reminder of the risks we all face from road conditions.
A Chicago bike tour marked the 107th anniversary of the city’s 1919 race riot.
A group of 12 students from my Kentucky alma mater raised over $100,000 to fight Alzheimer’s by riding their bikes across the US.
The New England Patriots players marked the second day of training camp by personally giving 40 new bicycles to children in need.
Tragic news from New York, where the 12-year old son of a New York cop was killed by a stray bullet while riding his bike, after a fight broke out between a group of men on the sidewalk; a suspect was arrested on multiple charges, including murder.
A Florida man complete a 17,300-mile ride around the world, raising $25,000 for an Alzheimer’s association in honor of his parents, who both died of the disease.
International
In what appears to be a repeat of a story from last year, Momentum lists the world’s top 30 bicycling cities based on the Copenhagenize Index. None of which is Los Angeles. Or in the US, even.
The magazine also lists “12 of the world’s best waterfront bike trails for scenic adventures;” once again, Los Angeles isn’t mentioned, though San Diego’s Mission Bay is.
Forty-six-year old supermodel Gisele Bundchen is one of us, along her husband Joaquim Valente, as the paparazzi catch them riding their bikes during a recent getaway in Rio de Janeiro.
A British rider sympathizes with the Turkish governor fired for wearing bikewear in public, saying the only safe place for Lycra after 50 is on your bike.
In horrible news, a 70-year old Bangladeshi woman was beaten to death by her neighbors, who allegedly struck her repeatedly with bamboo sticks when she complained about the neighbor’s five-year old son attempting wheelies too close to her feet.
A Japanese attorney explains the country’s new bicycling regulations, which range from the equivalent of $73 for holding a cellphone while riding, to $18 for failing to slow down for pedestrians on the sidewalk.
Competitive Cycling
Tadej Pogačar joined the all-time greats by winning a record-tying fifth Tour de France in convincing style on Sunday, raising the question of whether he’ll follow tradition by riding off into the sunset, or return to attempt a record-breaking sixth win. Although I seem to recall some Texan winning seven times, but that now seems to be a drug-induced hallucination.
Mexico’s rising star Isaac Del Toro finished third in the Tour, helped along by Pogačar as he struggled with illness on the final week of the race.
The final stage of the Tour was shortened by a third, from 133 km to 89 km, due to the French wildfires, as Mother Jones called it the year climate change came for the Tour de France, which doesn’t seem far off the mark.
The BBC looks at the psychology of the Tour de France, where strategy matters as much as riding skill, while Road.cc asks if speeds have gotten too high in the race.
Once again, a race vehicle has injured a cyclist, as Colombian Einer Rubio slammed into the back of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG support car, which reportedly jammed on the brakes when a spectator fell in front of it, although that’s not visible in the video; Rubio withdrew from the race after getting 20 stitches to patch his bleeding face. one more argument for why race vehicles of any type don’t belong in the peloton.
American Sepp Kuss lost his chance at winning on Alpe d’Huez when he crashed hard on the descent, saved from a dangerous fall down the mountainside only by netting put up to avoid just such a catastrophe; he ended up finishing third behind Richard Carapaz and Remco Evenepoel. Adding insult to injury, Kuss was fined 1,500 Swiss Francs for littering — the equivalent of $1844 and change — along with being docked 75 UCI points and one minute on the general classification of this Tour de France, which won’t affect his standing, finishing in 13th place.
Finally…
That feeling when you ride your bike off the top of a perfectly good hot air balloon. Or when you invent the tall bike, again.
And that feeling when you get fined for your own infraction after sending the cops video a driver’s faux pas.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
