Tag Archive for Encinitas

Encinitas declares bicycling emergency, support for Pacific Beach Slow Street, and car death cult piece misses mark

June 29, 2023 / / Comments Off on Encinitas declares bicycling emergency, support for Pacific Beach Slow Street, and car death cult piece misses mark

About damn time.

Encinitas has joined its North San Diego County neighbor Carlsbad in declaring a state of emergency for “bicycle, e-bicycle and motorized mobility device safety” in the wake of the death of 15-year old Brodee Champlain-Kingman

Champlain-Kingman’s family announced his death on Saturday, after he was struck by the driver of a work truck on Thursday.

However, the planned state of emergency action items reported by San Diego’s NBC-7 seem a little lacking.

The local emergency allows the city quicker access to resources necessary for education and enforcement, if needed. Some actions that the city council hopes to accomplish include the rental of 10 messages boards that will be placed in high-visibility areas reminding both riders and drivers to share the road, 300 yard signs urging safety, additional work with schools to educate students on-campus and a bike safety video made in unison with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department that can be played at assemblies and meetings.

The declaration places the most of the onus for safety on the potential victims riding on two wheels, rather than the people in the big, dangerous machines.

Because yard signs and message boards aren’t likely to slow drivers down, and won’t do a damn thing for the distracted drivers who don’t even see them.

Yes, it’s a start.

But if Encinitas really wants to save lives, they’ll need to lower speed limits and redesign roads to prevent speeding, as well as crack down on any form of distraction behind the wheel.

And it wouldn’t hurt to work with other North County cities to improve safety along the entire coast highway corridor.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people turned out for a candlelight vigil to honor Champlain-Kingman.

Thanks to Phillip Young and Marcello Calicchio for the heads-up.

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These days, every street project that might possibly inconvenience someone is contentious.

Usually, needlessly so.

That’s certainly the case with the Slow Street project on Diamond Street in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood, where all of four — yes, four — people rose up at a recent Town Council meeting to complain about it.

Yet the local paper still headlined it as “Pacific Beach residents express displeasure over city’s traffic plans for Diamond Street.”

Did I mention that it was just four people who complained?

Fortunately, the local representative for the City Council Mobility Board, who was also the researcher who evaluated the project, wrote to the San Diego Union-Tribune to support the project.

…The benefits are staggering. The project led to an increase in walking and biking mode share, and children and older adults using the street. Driving mode share decreased by nearly 60 percent with a smaller impact on traffic on adjacent streets.

People reported a greater sense of community and well-being. Most were using the street for transportation and half planned to visit a business during their trip. Most importantly, there was overwhelming support for making the project permanent.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but “overwhelming support” is probably more than four.

A lot more.

She goes on to say that making Diamond a permanent slow street shouldn’t even be up for debate, since it gets San Diego that much closer to meeting its Climate Action Plan and Vision Zero goals.

Let’s hope the city council is listening.

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Progressive magazine The American Prospect missed the mark.

A writer for the magazine makes the case against the “death cult of the American car,” noting the divergence between dropping traffic death rates in Europe, and rising rates in the US.

But he goes off track at the end in blaming neoliberalism of the 1980s and ’90s for the American failure, which he argues resulted in less government oversight, drawing a straight line leading to today’s massively oversized vehicles, overly wide roads and high traffic death rates.

The problem with that is traffic deaths prior to the ’80s were significantly higher than even the nearly 43,000 deaths in both 2021 and 2022, while today’s per capita deaths are just a fraction of the 1960s and 1970s.

There’s no arguing that traffic deaths are too high, and getting higher, and that poor road design and the ever-increasing size of motor vehicles are at least partly to blame, along with a dramatic increase in distracted driving.

But fondly remembering the good old days when traffic death rates were even worse doesn’t help.

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I have somehow miraculously recovered the ability to embed tweets.

Which comes in handy, with this must-read thread from People Powered Media regarding the poor conditions on the new bus and bike upgrades on Venice Blvd.

And yes, I’m including the links above in case the tweets below somehow disappear.

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I’m not sure if we shared this short film from Nimesh in Los Angeles when it came out last December.

So we’ll correct that possible oversight today.

In it, he argues that LA’s flat terrain and year-round Mediterranean climate should make it the bicycle capital of the world. But it isn’t, because Los Angeles makes biking in paradise a nightmare.

Thanks to Steven Hallett for the heads-up.

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Robert Leone forwards news that the Marines will apparently be blowing things up on Camp Pendleton again.

Which means that the popular bike path through the base will be closed from July 31st to August 4th.

So if you’re planning to ride south from Orange County, or north from San Diego County, you’ll have to use the shoulder of the freeway from the Las Pulgas Gate north to the tunnel under I-5.

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Some things don’t need translating.

Ralph Durham forwards a video for the proposed Complete Streets transformation of a Munich, Germany arterial.

Like he says, Google Translate is your friend. But I don’t make friends easily, so I’ll let him give you the shorthand.

I got a newsletter from the German Cycling Federation ADFC, and in this issue it shows a proposal to do a street makeover for a major arterial into the center of town. Next step is through the city council.

The numbers for users from 2011 to 2022 are amazing. The north end of the project runs into a nasty intersection that has been undergoing total renovation for the last 4 years. The existing situation shows 9,300 users on bikes daily. There are a couple of pictures of the existing bike lane. Unreal usage, but it is a main route direct into the city center.

It would be great if it gets through the city council.

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

This is who we share the world with. Even the bike-riding mayor of Emeryville has to deal with wannabe killer drivers. Unfortunately, though, this doesn’t cross the legal threshold for a threat, since it lacks a statement of intent — “I would” vs “I will.”

https://twitter.com/JohnBauters/status/1674278161012645888

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

Police in Hermosa Beach are looking for a young man who rode off on a gas-powered beach cruiser after allegedly throwing fireworks into a crowd of people.

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Local 

This is who we share the road with. The LAPD is looking for a serial hit-and-run driver in a $90,000 electric Porsche Taycan who smashed into three cars in three separate crashes while driving on Main Street in DTLA at 3 am, before disappearing into the night.

West Hollywood will keep e-scooters on the streets for now, but calls on city officials to renegotiate provider contracts while imposing a 10 mph speed limit in the city.

 

State

After a Garden Grove councilmember said he doubts there’s much demand for bike lanes in the city, a bike-riding writer responds by suggesting he try riding some of the really scary ones that separate bike riders from speeding drivers with just a thin strip of paint.

Carpenteria’s new Santa Claus Lane Bikeway will have a temporary opening this weekend in time for the 4th of July holiday; it will close again this fall for final installation of a permanent barrier rail.

Santa Barbara will keep a nine-block stretch of State Street closed to cars for at least the next three and a half years, while continuing to allow bicycles.

Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick says don’t ride on San Francisco’s new Valencia Street protected bike lane because it’s unsafe.

 

National

US Magazine rounds up the summer’s best deals on ebikes. Although with emphasis on deals rather than the actual quality of the ebikes.

Bike Portland’s Jonathan Maus says we’re having the wrong conversation about ebikes, as people predictably point fingers at kids on bikes while calling for mandatory licensing after the death of a teenage bike rider.

A 45-year old Las Vegas man died nearly a month after he was struck by a speeding motorcyclist while riding his bicycle.

Any city can do Bike to Work Day. But my bike-friendly Colorado hometown hosts an annual Bike Prom.

Life is cheap in North Dakota, where an 88-year old driver faces a single misdemeanor hit-and-run charge for running down a pair of bike riders participating in an annual fundraising ride from Texas to Alaska, then fleeing the scene. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive. And suggesting that he may be on the wrong side of that line. 

The family of a 14-year-old boy pinned to the ground by an off-duty Chicago cop who mistakenly accused him of stealing a bike is suing the city and the police officer; Michael A. Vitellaro was acquitted of official misconduct and aggravated battery in the incident earlier this month.

New Orleans bicyclists demand change as deaths spike in the city with the highest per capita rate of bicycling deaths in the US.

Vermont relaunched what was the nation’s first statewide bike rebate program, but with just $150,000 available for ebike vouchers.

Over 1,200 people applied for ebike vouchers in just the first few hours of Connecticut’s ebike rebate program. Which offers a warning for California, which has only $7.5 million left for rebate vouchers when its program finally launches. 

An 84-year old Pennsylvania man faces charges for the hit-and-run death of a 64-year old bike rider, after his own dashcam turned on him. Again raising the question of how old is too old to drive. And once agains suggesting he may be on the wrong side of it. 

 

International

Momentum Magazine offers advice on how to stay cool and fresh while bike commuting in summer weather.

Off.Road.cc suggest eight tips to help motivate you to get back on your bike.

Yanko Design recommends the top ten accessories to upgrade your bike this summer, including zip-on knobby tire treads, and a face air filter that will make you look like Batman supervillain Bane.

Hundreds of Calgary residents called for keeping a popup cycle track after the city threatened to tear it out.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list, as Cycling Weekly rides the 100-mile off-road Trans Cambrian Way through the least populated district of Wales.

A Scottish bike messenger founded Gay’s Okay six years ago to make “simply adorable apparel” while building more inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ bike riders.

An Indian man has traveled through 180 countries on a globe-trotting, 120,000-mile bike ride to call attention to HIV/Aids, with just 11 more countries to go.

The hit-and-run epidemic has spread to Thailand, after a 47-year old man was found lying dead on the side of the road near his mangled bicycle, shortly after separating from his riding companion.

 

Competitive Cycling

Three-time world champ Peter Sagan escaped a DUI charge with a three-month suspended sentence, after he was stopped in Monaco last month riding a scooter while under the influence; the sentence will allow him to compete in what will be his final Tour de France.

British cyclist Tom Pidcock says he loves descending, but is having second thoughts after he was hit hard by the death of Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder during a steep descent on the Tour de Suisse.

We Love Cycling predicts Jonas Vingegaard will win the Tour de France – unless Tadej Pogačar does.

American cyclist Kristen Faulkner’s hopes of returning to this year’s women’s Tour de France and the Giro Donne are in jeopardy, after she suffered a “small” knee fracture when she was struck by a driver while training in California. Read the first link on AOL if Bicycling blocks you. 

 

Finally…

At last, mountain bike shorts for expectant mothers. Forget trendy dance moves, now you can watch Le Tour on Le TikTok.

And answering the burning question of whether accused killer Kaitlin Armstrong is related to Lance.

Um, no.

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Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating today. 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

Update: 15-year old boy dies days after collision while riding ebike in Encinitas; 2nd bike death in San Diego County this year

June 25, 2023 / / Comments Off on Update: 15-year old boy dies days after collision while riding ebike in Encinitas; 2nd bike death in San Diego County this year

A teenage boy has died, no more than two days after he was struck by a driver while riding an ebike in Encinitas.

According to The Coast News Group, 15-year old Brodee Braxton Champlain-Kingman was riding north on El Camino Real this past Thursday.

He was apparently hit from behind by the driver of a work van, after allegedly changing lanes in front of the van. No time or location was given for the crash.

Champlain-Kingman was hospitalized at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla with major injuries; family members confirmed his death two days later, on Saturday.

The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. Police don’t believe he was under the influence.

However, there’s no word on whether any other witnesses saw the crash, or observed Champlain-Kingman change lanes.

Anyone with information is urged to call the North Coastal Sheriff’s Station Traffic Division at 760/966-3500.

The paper reports a candlelight vigil is scheduled for 7 pm Tuesday at San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign to pay Champlain-Kingman’s medical and funeral expenses has raised over $21,000 of the $50,000 goal in just one day.

The crowdfunding page describes the teenager this way,

Brodee Braxton Champlain-Kingman was brought into this world on November 2nd 2007. During his 15 1/2 years, he touched many lives with his grace, compassion, determination and kindness. Anyone that knew Brodee could feel his authentic, heart-forward energy. Brodee was fiercely steadfast in his desire to excel academically, thrive socially and grind for those gains in the gym. Nothing was more striking than Brodee’s natural ability to connect with others and his sincere desire to reflectively grow in his relationships and life pursuits. He lived with grounded humility – always learning, always evolving.

This is at least the 21st  bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

Update: The San Diego Union-Tribune places the time of the crash as around 6 pm Thursday, near Encinitas Blvd. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Brodee Braxton Champlain-Kingman and all his family and loved ones.

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

Injured Encinitas bike advocate wins $11 million settlement, SaMo crashes drop 50%, and boring street racers into quitting

March 10, 2021 / / 2 comments

It’s the very definition of tragic irony.

In December of 2018, the executive director of advocacy group Cardiff 101 Main Street was run down by a driver while riding her bike on the sharrows on the North Coast Highway in the Leucadia neighborhood of Encinitas.

Exactly where she had long fought for safety improvements, including a road diet and bike lanes.

Roberta Walker, a longtime bike and pedestrian advocate, and former professional snowboarder, suffered multiple catastrophic injuries that left her survival in doubt for some time after she was placed in a medically induced coma.

This week, she settled a lawsuit with Encinitas for a whopping $11 million to cover past and future medical expenses, as well as what will likely be years, if not a lifetime, of rehab.

Although something tells me she’d gladly give up every penny to avoid those injuries and have her old life back.

Her lawyer argued that the sharrows were a dangerous condition of public property and a direct cause of the crash, in which she was run down from behind by a pickup driver.

Which, sadly, is about as good a description as any for far too many sharrows.

Thankfully, that won’t be a problem much longer.

The long-awaited project began preliminary construction activities last month and features traffic calming measures, buffered bike lanes, raised medians, roundabouts and enhanced crosswalks.

“One profound irony of this accident is that Ms. Walker herself had advocated for a dedicated bike lane in multiple City Council meetings,” (plaintiffs’ attorney Ed) Susolik said.

There’s no word on whether the driver ever faced charges.

Or even got a ticket for nearly killing someone riding legally, exactly where she was supposed to be.

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Santa Monica saw a 50% drop in traffic collisions over the last year as more people stayed home during the pandemic, and a 70% reduction in drunk driving due to the closure of restaurants and bars.

The city also repurposed street parking for al fresco restaurant dining, and built another 18 miles of protected bike lanes — which equals half of all the bike lanes built in Los Angeles in the 2019/2020 fiscal year, despite being just a tiny fraction of LA’s size.

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Apparently, the Burbank Police Department plans to bore street racers into giving it up.

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Today’s common theme is a host of new bikes, e- and otherwise.

Who wouldn’t want an ebike inspired by the legendary Caroll Shelby?

When you need your powerful ebike camouflaged for hunting.

A 24-year old Irishman created a new ebike designed to replace your car, and turned to Vietnam for manufacturing.

Or maybe you’d rather have a cross between a teeny tiny car and a throttle controlled adult e-tricycle.

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

After London cop carelessly cut off a bike rider, the officer made a U-turn and came back — to lecture the guy on the bike.

It’s a sad commentary when even carfree British streets aren’t.

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

Tragic news from the UK, where a bike rider is on trial for allegedly jumping a red light and slamming into a 73-year old man walking home from work; the victim died days later as a result of severe brain injuries suffered in the crash; bicyclist turned himself in after initially fleeing the scene. Yet another reminder that pedestrians are the only people on the street who are more vulnerable than we are. So ride carefully around them, dammit. And stick around after a crash. 

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Local

LADOT is planning safety improvements to a 1.2 mile segment of San Vicente Blvd east of Beverly Hills when the street is scheduled to be repaved this June; options include a separated or parking protected bike lane.

Metro is hosting a virtual bike repair and flat fixing class this Saturday.

 

State

A San Diego bike rider was lucky to survive when he swerved suddenly to avoid a garbage truck in a parking lot, and was impaled through the neck and jaw by a hook hanging from the front of a pickup.

UC Santa Barbara talks with geography professor Trisalyn Nelson, who created BikeMaps to allow bike riders to report trouble spots after yet another too-close call on her bike.

Authorities identified the victim of Saturday’s Turlock hit-and-run as a 44-year old Turlock man; police are looking for the driver of a charcoal gray Mercedes sedan with visible damage to the front and/or side.

Streetsblog is looking for freelance help in San Francisco.

A Gold Country bike columnist says unless you make a living on it, your bike is a toy, so have fun on it. Evidently, he’s never heard of bike commuting or transportation riding. Which doesn’t mean he’s not right about the fun part.

 

National

The Verge looks at the growing DIY ebike movement, citing the birth of Rad Power Bikes as a prime example.

Tragic news from Phoenix, where a 22-year old man was collateral damage when a shootout erupted between a group of people standing in a field as he was riding by on his bike.

It may be illegal to park in a Houston bike lane now, but that doesn’t mean it actually stops anyone.

Chicago’s Goose Island beer is marking the release of their new 312 Lemonade Shandy by giving away new bicycles to anyone who can find one of 50 giant lemons hidden throughout the city on — you guessed it — March 12th, aka 3-12. And they make damn good beer, too.

The bike shortage induced by the bike boom induced by the pandemic has made its way to Bowling Green KY, home to the fighting WKU Hilltoppers.

Armed robbers are targeting New York delivery riders to steal the expensive ebikes they need to do their jobs.

 

International

The family of British motorcyclist Harry Dunn say they’re offended by an offer from American spy Anne Sacoolas to do community service for the wrong way hit-and-run that took his life, after she claimed diplomatic immunity to flee the country. Although you have to wonder about American intelligence services if they can’t figure out that Brits drive on the other side of the road.

A bike chain in the UK is facing well-deserved criticism for laying off 300 workers and shifting the rest to zero guaranteed hour contracts in an effort to slash costs, despite booming business from the bike boom.

 

Competitive Cycling

Vincenzo Nibali, who should know, says turn off those bike computers and power meters during a race and ride on instinct, like Strade Bianche winner Mathieu van der Poel.

Rouleur previews the upcoming Giro, the first of the three Grand Tours.

 

Finally…

Business up front, party in the back — a DIY mountain bike with a mullet. That feeling when the cops have you dead to rights for stealing a bike from a disabled person, and you somehow think you can do better in front of a jury.

And when you want to learn how to make a bicycle, among other things.

In Japanese.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a damn mask, already. 

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

Update: Man killed in Encinitas bicycling crash; no word about the victim or the driver who killed him

November 28, 2020 / / 17 comments

Once again a bicycle rider has been killed.

And not one word about the driver — or whether there even was one.

According to multiple virtually identical sources, a man died following an apparent right hook collision in Encinitas late Saturday morning.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was struck as some sort of vehicle was turning right from westbound Leucadia Boulevard onto Moonstone Court around 11:50 am.

He died after he was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, despite the efforts of bystanders to revive him before paramedics arrived.

The closest any of the stories came to mentioning that the vehicle even had a driver was a brief reference that police investigators don’t think alcohol played a role in the crash.

That determination also implies that the driver remained at the scene.

A street view shows a wide, four-lane divided highway on Leucadia with a faded green bike lane on either side.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time, or are likely to learn before the holiday weekend is over.

This is at least the 61st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

Update: The victim has finally been publicly identified as Dr. Jennings Worley, a noted authority in the battle against cystic fibrosis, who was instrumental in developing a number of bio-engineering patents.

He leaves behind his wife of 34 years and two adult children. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Dr. Jennings Worley and his loved ones. 

Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Dangerous new barrier-protected bikeway in Encinitas, giving street space to people, and gravel riding in our own backyard

May 1, 2020 / / 4 comments

Not all bicycling improvements really are.

San Diego’s Phillip Young has been kind enough to include me in a series of emails with Encinitas city leaders about the dangers of a new and apparently not-so-much improved protected bike lane along the coast highway through the city.

I asked him to explain just what the problem is, and what could be done to fix it.

The City of Encinitas has created a narrow Class 4 protected bikeway/cycletrack with too much going on in a confined space with no escape routes. This stretch of Coast Hyw 101 has recorded no bicycle accidents from 2016 until a week ago. The wheel stops / berms were added a week ago and now the accident count are 3 serious crashes requiring cyclists to be taken away by ambulances. The third accident was today. The Encinitas Mayor and officials ignored input for the public and experienced cyclists at multiple public meetings prior to final design.

Possible factors:

  • Mix flow of high and low speed cyclists
  • Many travel modes and stuff: bicycles, eBikes, walkers, runners, baby strollers, three wheelers, inline skates, skateboards, kids in tow by moms, old people, couples, surfboards, beach stuff
  • Mix of ages and abilities from world class triateletes to first time riders
  • Two-way traffic possible for all the above types. Only bicycles are allowed but the city design does not accommodate the others travelers elsewhere – no sidewalks.
  • Too narrow to accommodate the traffic as validated by 3-accidents in a week and the wheel stops / berms have only been installed for 1-week.
  • Northbound is higher speed due to a descending slope – the three accidents are northbound events
  • Signage needs improvement but that creates more road furniture to run over
  • The wheel stops / berms are the problem and offer no true protection from cars and create a maintenance problems because machinery can’t get in to clean and resurface the bikeway with more safety issues

The best solution would be to shift the Coast Hyw 101 roadway from 2-car lanes each way to 1-car lane each way. The old #2 car lane for each direction could be turned into a Class 1 Bikeway with K-rails for separation from vehicular traffic. The old Class 4 protected bikeway / cycletrack with wheel stops / berms could be turned into a sidewalk for non-bicycle use.

Second best solution is to add sharrows to the tarmac in the #2-car lane each way plus pole mounted signage.

These are just a few of my thoughts that come to mind. Riders with more experience may have some better ideas.

We are working to get the word out to the cycling community to be made aware of the new road hazards on the Coast Hwy 101 in Cardiff.

One more example of why bike riders should always be included in bikeway plans. Or at the very least, why they should turn the job over to an engineer who actually rides a bike.

Hopefully, Encinitas will get this fixed before there’s any more blood on the pavement.

Today’s photo was taken from the email chain; I’m not sure who should be credited.

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Today’s common theme is finding space on our streets for people, instead of just cars.

Alameda is just the latest Bay Area city to install slow streets, returning unused street space to the people to get outside during the coronavirus shutdown.

A Minnesota website casts a critical eye towards Oakland’s slow streets program, saying it plays great in gentrified and urbanist neighborhoods, but not so much in  areas where people are struggling to survive.

Politico says European cities are betting on pedal power for post-coronavirus mobility.

Liverpool, England’s walking and cycling commissioner is calling for a “quiet revolution” to relegate motor vehicles below the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists when the city reopens.

Paris is closing the iconic Rue de Rivoli to cars to provide more space for cyclists and pedestrians while the city reopens.

Brussels is taking street space to make room for bike riders after Belgium’s coronavirus lockdown lifts.

And Vilnius, Lithuania is turning the city into a vast open air cafe.

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Heavenly gravel biking in our own back yard.

Thanks to Zachary Rynew for the link.

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Now this is how you ride under lockdown.

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

A Mendocino County man faces charges for violently attacking his pregnant wife — with an effing propane tank, no less — before attempting to make his getaway by bike.

A Montana man faces multiple charges for fleeing from police and resisting arrest while high on meth, after a cop tried to stop him for riding without lights on his bike.

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Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton deservedly takes LA city leaders to task for ignoring the already-approved Mobility Plan, locking in auto-centric streets under the city’s accelerated repaving program.

Long Beach bike shops are riding the crest of the Covid-19 wave.

Not only is Shia LaBeouf one of us, he’s now the proud owner of a kid hauler for his bike.

 

State

California belatedly releases a list of approved outdoor activities during the coronavirus shutdown, including bicycling and BMX.

A San Diego man will muster out of the Navy today, and embark on a cross-country bike ride on Saturday to raise funds for wounded vets. Which should be interesting with half the country shut down right now.

The woman killed by an alleged drunk hit-and-run driver while riding her bike in Goleta earlier this week has been identified as 59-year old Goleta resident Katherine Stewart Peden.

A San Jose website offers advice on how to buy a new bike during the pandemic. Pro tip: Always get your bike from, or at least through, a local bike shop. It may cost a little more, but it will more than pay off in service down the road.

A San Francisco nurse was overwhelmed by an outpouring of support after complaining on Facebook that her bike was stolen as she was working a 12 hour shift; she now has two bikes to choose from.

 

National

It may not seem like it, but May is still Bike Month, pandemic or not.

PeopleForBikes advises bike shops to share the good news about bicycling in these scary times, while Bike Magazine examines why bikes are booming during the coronavirus crisis.

Pink Bike rediscovers the joy of bike riding on a gravel bike.

A writer for Bicycling movingly describes finding her first real sense of home on her bike.

Five cheap upgrades to make your bike feel like new. I’d say give it a good overhaul and cleaning, slap on some better tires, and finish up with some fresh bar tape.

A health website comes up with a list of bike safety tips “you’ve definitely forgotten about since childhood,” none of which you’ve probably forgotten about. Any list that starts with “always wear a helmet” reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how to stay safe on a bike, anyway. A bike helmet should always be considered the last line of defense when all else fails, not the first.

Add Oregon’s wine country to your bike bucket list. And drinking list, for that matter.

A Utah driver turns his dash cam the wrong way, and catches the roof of his Lotus Elise sports car blowing off as he drives down the road — and naturally, it lands in the bike lane.

Minnesota is changing next week’s Bike to School Day to Bike Anywhere Day. Which can and should be celebrated 365 days a year.

Kindhearted Kentucky police bought a new bike for an autistic teen after his was stolen.

New York City’s essential workers are now eligible for a full year of free bikeshare.

 

International

Road.cc recommends the 28 best bicycle smartphone apps.

A British Columbia man describes how bicycling helped him drop 65 pounds.

London’s Evening Standard takes a look at their picks for the best bike backpacks.

Evidently, Southern California isn’t the only place where people are overwhelming beachfront trails, as police increase patrols in the Welsh coastal city of Swansea to deal with a flood of bike riders.

That’s more like it. A British driver was fined the equivalent of $150 for driving too close to a bike rider. Which was easy to prove, since he actually hit him.

Great idea. France is attempting to support local bike shops while encouraging people to ride their bikes, by making everyone in the country eligible for up to $56 worth of bike repairs.

Cyclist explores the hidden mountain roads of Valencia. No, the one in Southern Spain, not northern LA County.

Once again, bike riders are heroes, but in a different sense. Nine bighearted Mumbai bicyclists are crowdfunding meals to serve poor migrants and homeless people, delivering 5,000 meals a day.

Tel Aviv, Israel is pulling the plug on its bikeshare service, saying it’s become obsolete with the rising popularity of ebikes.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Redlands Classic goes virtual this weekend.

Red Bull talks with French cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the only person to hold road, ‘cross and mountain bike world titles at the same time. 

The winner of the Dirty Kanza breaks down what gear he uses and why.

A writer for Outsports explains why she loves the classic look of the 7 Eleven Cycling team jersey, and the history behind it. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind wearing one myself.

 

Finally…

It’s a lot easier to overcome a bad bike crash when you can’t remember it. Now you, too, can be the proud owner of an ’89 Colnago monocoque carbon-frame prototype built with the Ferrari Formula 1 team, for the low, low price of just 50 grand.

And beware of killer sheep.

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Thanks to Matthew Robertson for his monthly donation to help support this site, and bring you the latest bike news every morning. 

On a related note, some people have asked for an alternative to PayPal or Zelle to donate to this site. Does anyone have a favorite free or low-cost online resource you can recommend?

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Joseph Fernandez ordered to stand trial in the hit-and-run death of Jim Swarzman

May 11, 2011 / / 3 comments

One month to the day after Encino endurance cyclist Jim Swarzman was killed by a hit-and-run driver, charges have been filed against the man accused in his death.

Forty-six-year old Carlsbad resident Joseph Ricardo Fernandez was ordered to stand trial July 11 on a single count of hit-and-run causing death. Although I wouldn’t count on that; this early in the process, trials seldom take place on the date originally scheduled.

Fernandez had his bail cut in half, from $100,000 to $50,000. As it now stands, he faces a maximum of just four years in prison if convicted.

Someone will have to explain to me why he is only charged with hit-and-run, rather than facing trial for actually killing another human being, whether through drunkenness, distraction or carelessness.

San Diego’s 10News, which has offered the most in-depth coverage to date, quotes Swarzman’s fiancée Nicole Honda testifying that she saw a flash of light before hearing what she described as an explosion.

“I saw something orange flying from behind me across to the side of the road,” said Honda.

Honda said a few seconds later she realized it was her fiancé being thrown into the air….

“I dropped my bike and started screaming and ran over to him and called 911,” said Honda. “He was struggling to breathe. I heard him trying to breathe.”

Swarzman died several hours later; Fernandez turned himself in the next day, saying he thought he might have hit something. However, every description and detail I’ve heard suggests a collision so violent it would have been impossible not to know he’d struck Swarzman.

Fernandez next court appearance is a readiness conference scheduled for June 6th.

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On a brighter note, Jim Lyle reports that Richard Schlickman, critically injured last March when his bike hit new unmarked speed bumps in Palos Verdes Estates, is showing significant improvement.

The word isn’t as good for Adam Rybicki, hit head-on by an alleged underage drunk driver last month. He has been moved to a sub-acute care facility, though his condition remains unchanged.

Category: Bikes & the Law / Tags: , , , ,
 
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