I received an email today from Dan Weinberg of Helen’s Cycles, announcing the Russell Moon Ride this Saturday to benefit a mountain biker who suffered a life-changing injury last year.
He makes a compelling case for why we all should participate.
So I’ll let Dan tell the story.
RUSSELL MOON RIDE
7:30 AM, Saturday, November 3, 2012 Ocean Ave & San Vicente Blvd, Santa MonicaOverview
Just over a year ago, Russell Moon was returning home from a mountain bike ride when a driver turned directly across his path and made contact. Russell sustained a serious spinal cord injury and is now a quadriplegic.
Prior to his life-changing injury, Russell had a thriving dental practice and taught dentistry at UCLA. He now focuses on his recovery participating in intensive physical therapy throughout the week.
Russell loved cycling, not only for the fitness benefits, but because of the sense of community it exuded. This non-competitive ride is the opportunity to ride for Russell, and honor his love for cycling.
Russell climbed effortlessly and was a confident descender. Whenever he sees his cycling friends he often says goodbye with the accompanying request; ‘Ride for me’.
All participation fees and additional donations will go directly to Russell for physical therapy and rehabilitation. If you can’t participate in the ride, please sponsor someone who is riding or you can donate here. Thank you.
Course Description
The 62-mile course will start at Ocean Ave and San Vicente Blvd at 7:30 AM on Saturday, November 3rd and take PCH to Encinal Canyon Rd, we will then take a right on Decker, then a left down Mulholland and back on PCH, to the original starting point. Click here for route map.
Helen’s Cycles will provide food and water the top of the 5.9-mile climb located at Decker Canyon Road and Mulholland Hwy.
If you choose not to climb, you can ride on PCH to Trancas Canyon Rd (at the west end of Zuma Beach) and return for a total of 41 miles.
Russell Moon will be at the end of the ride from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
The plan is for Russell to be on hand at the end of the ride at Ocean Ave and San Vicente Blvd. You will have a chance to give him encouragement and acknowledge his courage over the past year.
Registration $25 donation on line. Day of Event Registration 7:00 AM at the start of the ride – Ocean Ave and San Vicente Blvd, Santa Monica $25 cash or check.
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Satnam Singh, accused of killing Ventura cyclist Nick Haverland in a drunken hit-and-run collision spree, is finally on trial. Singh had a BAC of .39 when he was arrested at his home, nearly five times the legal limit. And he was involved in another drunk driving collision just three months before killing Haverland — even if he tried to blame it on his wife.
Hopefully, he’ll get the sentence he deserves following his conviction, which seems inevitable.
………
Sigh.
Try as I might, I just can’t manage to ignore the whole Lance Armstrong doping scandal. Bicycling says even if he did dope — or maybe, even though he doped — the penalties imposed in l’affaire Lance may have broken the rules. Red Kite Prayer offers a 23-year trail of ignored clues that Lance was dirty, and suggests that the real hope for cleaning up pro cycling may come in the form of a reporter’s lawsuit.
………
Maybe we got his attention, as Calbike says Mayor Villaraigosa is ready to try one more time to get a three-foot law passed. Streetsblog looks at UCLA’s new bike box. LADOT Bike Blog reviews last month’s BPIT meeting. Bikerowave hosts a class on basic bike fit on the 18th. Better Bike comes out against Measure J. Will Campbell plays leapfrog with a safe and courteous Dash Bus driver, while Boyonabike! offers tips on bike commuting. Santa Clarita launches a new bike website; we’ll know they’re serious about cycling when they link to this site, right?
The Orange County Bicycle Coalition offers an in-depth look at OC bike injury stats. You don’t expect good things to appear at midnight on Halloween, but the sharrows on the coast highway in Corona del Mar may be the exception. Two-thousand cyclists are expected to participate in Oceanside’s Bike the Coast Ride this weekend. San Diego could get reverse-angle parking spots to improve driver visibility and eliminate dooring. If you want to ride on Edwards Air Force base, you’d better wear a helmet — and be prepared to yield to any motor vehicle, whether or not you have the right-of-way. A 12-year old Santa Cruz rider is intentionally doored on Halloween night. A San Francisco cyclist is wanted for a violent assault on a Muni station agent who tried to stop him from bringing his bike into the station.
Three ingredients for a world-class bicycling network from People for Bikes. Slate says riding with headphones is incredibly dumb. For once, AAA offers motorists good advice on how to drive around cyclists and pedestrians. Good infographic on the nation’s first protected bike lane in NYC. Great series of photos on bicycling in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The Wall Street Journal says novice New Yorkers are dusting off their bikes, while the NY Times observes it’s an effective way around the post-hurricane traffic mess; now the city just has to keep everyone riding once things improve. And even gas station owners are telling people to try bikes.
Ottawa considers lowering the speed limit on a dangerous roadway to protect cyclists, and confronts the classic conflict between bike and pedestrian advocates and city planning engineers; seems like every city eventually has to fight that battle. An RAF pilot says maybe that driver really didn’t see you. A UK rider punches another cyclist after they collide in a tunnel. If you think you have it rough, try biking in Yemen.
Finally, a Bakersfield driver was twice convicted of DUI and arrested at least three times for driving with a suspended license — yet remained on the road to kill an 18-year old driver on Monday.
And it turns out the bike wasn’t stolen, but the rider was wanted — and carrying nearly 10 grams of drugs.
