Tag Archive for hit-and-run

Hit-and-run driver kills Hollywood statue, turning 6th Street into a weekend plaza, and Americans like traffic cams

August 29, 2025 / / One comment
Day 241 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

This, too, is the cost of traffic violence.

A hit-and-run driver severely damaged a popular Hollywood sculpture Monday evening, literally decapitating a statue of early film icon Anna May Wong, widely considered to be the first Chinese American film star.

The statue is, or rather, was, part of the Four Ladies of Hollywood Gazebo at Hollywood Blvd and La Brea Ave, a popular photo site for tourists, even if it has been without the small statue of Marilyn Monroe that used to top it until an influencer stole it as a prank and broke it.

According to Beverly Press & Park LaBrea News, the unknown driver fled the scene after crashing into it around 5:50 pm Monday. He’s described only as a male in a full-size, older model, white work van.

Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD’s Hollywood Division at 213/972-2971.

Let’s hope they find the coward and force ’em to pay for repairs.

………

Good idea.

CD10 Councilmember Heather Hutt wants to close a section of 6th Street in Koreatown on weekends to create a four-block pedestrian plaza.

Or rather, she wants to close it to cars so we can open it up for everyone else.

………

Researchers are discovering that automated traffic cams are more popular than you think, for one good reason.

They work.

According to Bloomberg,

But writ large, the track record of automatic enforcement is overwhelmingly positive. In surveys most Americans understand and value the upsides that traffic cameras offer. A 2022 study found that a majority of American adults back automatic traffic enforcement, and that presenting it as a tool to advance racial justice can make it even more popular. Earlier research identified consistently strong support. A 2012 study of people living across 14 US cities found that two-thirds of them supported red light cameras. Papers published in 2014 and 2016 found that 76% of residents in the District of Columbia and 62% of those in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, respectively, supported speed cameras.

Public support can transcend party lines and geography. Sarah Seo, a law professor now at New York University, found in a 2020 reportthat a majority of likely voters across the US supported “moving most traffic enforcement to traffic cameras and non-police agencies” (such as a transportation department, as Berkeley, California, has explored), including almost two-thirds of Democrats, a plurality of independents, and 42% of Republicans.

So what the hell is Los Angeles waiting for, already?

………

LADOT wants to know how to make the stretch of Pico Blvd west of DTLA safer.

So tell ’em, already.

………

Gravel Bike California rides Tour de Big Bear.

………

Before there was a Polls-Royce, Rolls rolled.

………

Oops.

Why does it do this?
byu/reviewtechhentai inbikewrench

………

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

Just an oopsie, as a British town removed a barrier mistakenly placed in the middle of a bike path.

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

An 85-year old San Francisco man ended up with multiple injuries when something knocked his cane out from under him and sent him flying as he walked in a bike lane — although he has no idea if it was someone on a bicycle, someone getting out of an Uber, or something or someone else.

More on the road-raging British bicyclist who allegedly threw his bike at a car in a fit of rage after the driver “bumped” into him, causing over $1,300 in damages, even through the driver pinky swears he was only going 2 mph at the time of the crash. Which kinda stretches credibility, because most cars can idle faster than that if left in gear.

………

Local 

Santa Clarita’s forthcoming Haskell Canyon Bike Park is making news in San Francisco, as the SF Gate examines the city’s effort to become a mountain biking destination.

 

State

In an op-ed for the nonprofit Voice of OC, a Huntington Beach man who identifies himself as an “automobile driver, a cyclist, and an e-bike rider” says enough with passing performative ebike laws on a city-by-city basis, since state law already covers it — including defining any two-wheeled electric device without pedals as a motorbike.

Around 50 people will set out today on the 5th annual Suicide Awareness Ride, covering 250 miles from San Diego to Santa Barbara over the next three days.

Carlsbad will consider adopting a minimum age requirement for ebike riders.

 

National

If your toddler wears a FunFix bike helmet, the feds want you to throw it away.

At least a Washington hit-and-run driver had the courtesy to wait until kids weren’t around to crash into a school bike rack.

When is a bike lane not a bike lane? When a high-end Denver steakhouse has a city permit to use it for valet service.

A Guinness World Record-holding adventure cyclist rode 430 miles north to south from one end of Wisconsin to the other, ending with a dip in Lake Superior.

State police in Michigan called for better road safety awareness as bicycling collisions jumped 20% in the first half of this year.

Gainesville, Florida seems to stretch the meaning of “traffic control device,” which is what they call bike lanes.

Commissioners in Florida’s Seminole County are hesitating to install new green bike lanes, after receiving a letter from the state ordering them to remove green crosswalks.

 

International

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website says Ireland’s “rugged and remote” Donegal coast belongs on everyone’s bike bucket list, especially this time of year.

More proof that bicycling is good for you, as new Italian study shows that riding your bike as little as 2.5 miles to work four to five times a week is enough to boost your heart health as much as 30%.

 

Competitive Cycling

Four time Tour de France winner Chris Froome had to be airlifted to a hospital following a training crash that left him with a fractured vertebra, multiple broken ribs and a collapsed lung; he’s reportedly in stable condition after being rushed into surgery.

It’s happened again, as thieves broke into the TotalEnergies cycling team truck at France’s Tour de Poitou-Charente, stealing 20 bikes made by the American ENVE brand.

 

Finally…

Aways remember to steal your getaway bike from Walmart before you rob a bank, not after. When you’re carrying synthetic drugs and meth on your bike, stop for the damn stop signs, already.

And if you don’t want to censor the maps, maybe don’t start your bike race in Three Cocks.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

13-year old Michael Smith killed by speeding hit-and-run driver in South LA last month; ghost bike installed tomorrow

August 20, 2025 / / 3 comments

This is what keeps me up at night. And what really pisses me off.

Because not only did the police, city and news media fail to inform us about yet another fatal hit-and-run, but the victim was a kid just out for a bike ride.

Here’s what we know so far about the needless death of Michael Smith, courtesy of a press release from Streets Are For Everyone.

The loved ones of Michael Kejuan Ramaun James Smith, Streets Are For Everyone, community members, and members of SAFE Families will host a Ghost Bike Memorial event to honor and remember Michael Smith, who was struck and killed by a speeding driver on July 22nd, 2025.

Michael was riding his bicycle on 83rd Street, headed toward Main Street to pick up a friend for a bike ride. He was struck and instantly killed by a speeding driver who was allegedly traveling at 75 MPH on a residential street. The driver fled the scene but was later arrested and has since been released on bail.

Michael, who would have celebrated his 13th birthday on September 16, was a radiant and compassionate child who loved riding bikes. He was also an entrepreneur, running his own ice cream truck since the age of seven, with dreams of growing his business and future.

The intersection is controlled with a traffic light, but are no bike lanes on either street.

This is at least the 36th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 14th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; this was also the seventh we’ve learned about in the City of LA.

Six of those seven Los Angeles victims lost their lives riding in South LA.

Michael Smith was the 12th SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year — fully one third of everyone killed riding a bicycle in Southern California this year.

But at least this time, they — allegedly — caught the heartless coward who left Michel to die in the street.

If you want to attend the ghost bike installation tomorrow, here is the information from the press release. If you do, ask Councilmember Price why we continue to all this to happen in South LA.

And why no one is telling us about it.

Ghost Bike Memorial Details

Date: Thursday, August 21, 2025

Time: 4:30 PM

Location: Intersection of 83rd Street & Main Street, South Los Angeles

Who:

Ellen Atwater, Michael’s Mother, and other family members
Councilmember Curren D Price Jr.
Damian Kevitt, Executive Director of Streets Are For Everyone
Pastor Patricia Strong-Fargas, Co-Chair, Faith for SAFEr Streets
John Jones III, Founder of East Side Riders
Members of SAFE Families
Friends and community members

In addition to the ghost bike, 13 white doves will be released in honor of Michael, who would have turned 13 years old next month.

Update: My News LA reports the crash occurred around 2:55 pm. Michael died after being taken to a hospital. 

Photo courtesy of SAFE

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

Man collecting recyclables on a bicycle killed in early morning in South LA hit-and-run; 5th South LA bike rider killed this year

August 18, 2025 / / One comment

Seriously, not another one.

For at least the fifth time this year, someone has been killed riding a bicycle in South Los Angeles.

And for the fourth time, the driver fled the scene; perhaps the only reason the other driver didn’t was he was too injured to drive away.

According to multiple sources, the victim was killed while collecting recyclables with his dog early Monday morning in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood.

The victim, who was identified only as a man in his 50s or 60s, was apparently riding on East 95th Street when he was struck by a driver crossing on San Pedro around 1:20 am.

He died at the scene.

The driver fled the scene; there’s no description of the suspect or their vehicle at this time.

According to Fox11, the crash left food, wheels and a recycling cart strewn across the intersection. The station reports that friends and relatives of the victim gathered near the scene afterwards, describing him as a “nice guy who never caused any trouble.”

The victim’s dog was following behind his bicycle, and wasn’t hurt in the collision. He was taken in by a volunteer group.

There is a bike lane on San Pedro, but nothing on 95th. The intersection is controlled only with a stop sign on 95th; it’s unclear if it would have be lighted at that hour.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the LAPD’s Southeast Division.

This is at least the 35th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; this was also the sixth we’ve learned about in the City of LA.

And he was the 11th SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and their loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Woman riding bicycle killed in Bellflower hit-and-run early Friday, 10th SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers this year

July 25, 2025 / / 11 comments

Another day, another person on a bicycle killed by a heartless coward.

This time in Bellflower.

According to both KCBS-2 and Fox-11, a woman was reported down in the street around 1:55 am Friday on Clark Ave at Somerset Blvd.

When sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found the victim lying in the road next to a bicycle.

There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or how long the woman, who hasn’t been publicly identified, may have been down on the Bellflower street she was discovered. Or if she could have survived if the driver had stopped and called for help, as the law requires.

Investigators are looking for the driver of a white pickup, believed to have fled north on Clark Street.

This is at least the 27th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

This was also the 6th person to die riding a bicycle in LA County in less than a month, and the tenth SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.

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

Three WeHo/Hollywood hit-and-runs within 10 blocks and 20 days, and road-raging driver runs down Fullerton bike rider

July 25, 2025 / / No comments
Day 206 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

This is who we share the road with.

A 33-year old man was arrested for fleeing the scene after crashing into a motorcyclist outside Jones Restaurant in West Hollywood, just eight days after the hit-and-run crash that killed Blake Ackerman just seven blocks away.

And that crash was just three blocks from a hit-and-run crash that killed a 36-year old woman in Hollywood 11 days earlier; unlike the others, no one has been arrested for this one yet.

That’s three hit-and-run crashes, leaving two people dead, within a ten-block area straddling WeHo and Los Angeles in less than three weeks.

Houston, we have a problem.

It’s going to take some major coordination between the two cities to solve it before someone else ends up dead, and another driver flees the scene.

………

This is who we share the road with, part two.

A Fullerton man was intentionally hit head-on by a road-raging hit-and-run driver for the crime of simply tapping the driver’s bumper when he didn’t move his car when the light changed, because he was too busy flirting with a woman to pay attention to the light.

The victim, who was just riding his bike home from work, was lucky to escape serious injury, despite being sent flying off his bike.

That was the driver’s second attempt at running him down. The first came when the driver swerved at him from behind and missed.

He was more successful in his second attempt, after apparently turning around and cutting across traffic lanes to target the victim from the other side of the road.

Fullerton police are looking for as a red two-door car, possibly a Dodge Challenger, and hoping to find security video showing the car’s license plate,

Anyone with information is urged to call the Fullerton Police Department at 714/738-6800.

………

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

No bias here. Yucatán Magazine says bike lanes in Mérida, capital of the Mexican state, are showing mixed results after three years, with some people using them while others still bike in the traffic lanes, while suggesting the mere presence of the lanes contribute to greater traffic congestion. No, too many cars are the cause of traffic congestion. And of course people still ride in traffic lanes if bike lanes don’t take them where they need to go.

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

A former Premier League youth soccer player will spend the next 27 months behind bars for the hit-and-run crash that severely injured a woman crossing a Manchester, England street, while riding an ebike with another man on the back; both men fled, and had to be chased down and caught by bystanders.

………

Local 

The Pasadena Planning Commission unanimously voted to turn North Lake Ave into a new Old Pasadena, with plans calling for wider sidewalks, landscaped medians, a comprehensive streetscape strategy, and new bicycle facilities. Which could mean anything from physically protected bike lanes to a few random bike racks.

A 21-year old Claremont man just finished a nearly 6,000-mile bike ride with two college friends, riding across the country from New Jersey to Seattle, then down to the Mexican border before returning home.

Westlake Village became the latest city to join in on the rush to crack down on ebikes, banning all electric micromobility devices from virtually everywhere but city streets, while allowing sheriff’s deputies to ensure compliance, but “only during lawful stops.” Well, that’s comforting.

 

State

Fullerton’s 3rd Annual Christmas in July Bike Ride will roll through the city’s streets tomorrow, with Santa Claus trading in his sleigh for a mountain bike. Please pass along my wish for Santa that someone will find the road-raging SOB who ran down that Fullerton bike rider, and lock his ass up for a damn long time. 

No surprise here, as a fully separated Class IV bike lane is getting pushback from residents in San Mateo, who say they have been ignored in the design process — and would prefer an additional traffic lane to reduce congestion, even though induced demand means that would probably just make things worse.

 

National

A new report considers why more people aren’t mountain biking, finding problems ranging from perceived risk to the sport being seen as mostly white and male dominated.

A woman who grew up parenting herself with a mother suffering from severe depression says learning to ride a bicycle at 35 allowed her to meet the child she never got to be.

Seattle has a newly built, physically protected bike lane along a section of the bike-friendly city’s waterfront.

Scottsdale, Arizona has banned children aged 16 or below from riding any ebike capable of traveling 21 mph or higher.

That’s how to do it right. Minnesota’s popular and successful ebike rebate system returns for another year, with a 10-day portal to apply. Unlike California, which somehow expects over 100,000 people to apply in a single hour without crashing the system. Again. 

Ebike maker eBliss Global will invest over $4 million into a new Utica, New York factory to onshore production of their bikes beginning this fall, hoping to make the area a center for ebike manufacturing.

Virginia Tech University has raised the threshold to achieve their vaunted 5-Star safety rating, resulting in 139 bike helmet models being downgraded to 4 Stars or below.

 

International

A Mexicali, Mexico bike advocate describes what it’s like to ride a bike in the city that recorded North America’s second-highest temperature at 126° Fahrenheit, or 52.4° Celsius, and what can be done to make biking there better.

A Vancouver woman is creating Strava art, riding her bike across the region using the app to draw images including a piggy bank, crocodile and a T-rex.

An op-ed in the Guardian says the bicycle is an important part of Ireland’s past, and Irish cyclist Ben Healy’s brief time in the Tour de France’s yellow jersey can inspire a revival of bike riding in the country.

Ouch. A Kazakhstan paper asks if the country’s largest city is turning into a car-choked Los Angeles clone.

 

Competitive Cycling

Reuters says Australian Ben O’Connor “stormed to a sensational victory,” on yesterday’s stage 18 of the Tour de France, his “eyes blazing with determination,” as he “launched a ferocious solo attack on the fearsome Col de la Loze.” Well, okay then.

Apparently, the Visma-Lease a Bike team will do anything to stop overall leader Tadej Pogačar from winning his fourth Tour, after brake-checking Pogačar with the team car at the start of yesterday’s stage.

Road.cc examines the “unwritten rules” of the Tour de France, how they’re enforced and how they actually determine how the race plays out.

After becoming the first African man or woman to win a Monument, Kim Le Court reflected on her unusual entry to the sport, taking it up because her parents and brothers were bicyclists, after first trying tennis, golf, touch rugby and soccer.

British former world champ Lizzie Deignan is calling it a career after announcing her pregnancy.

 

Finally…

If you get banned from a bike shop during the day, just let yourself in during the night when it’s closed. And the eternal question of why cyclists shave their legs.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Congress member echoes calls for safer WeHo Streets, and CO cops succeed with hit-and-run alert LAPD and CHP won’t use

July 24, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 205 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Burbank Congressional Representative Laura Friedman echoed last week’s call for safer streets in West Hollywood.

The Beverly Press quotes the 30th District House member as saying,

“We need to be thinking about this from every angle, from the way we design vehicles, to what safety features are in vehicles, to employing technology like speed cameras across the state in a thoughtful way, to driver’s education,” she (Friedman) said.

Friedman also commended West Hollywood and other cities for implementing safer traffic measures, calling the increase in fatal collisions a “public health crisis.”

Because a public health crisis is exactly how we need to be looking at traffic violence. Just like we should consider gun violence, but don’t.

In both cases.

The paper also quotes Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, founder Damian Kevitt citing a “shocking” increase in traffic violence in the city of just 34,000 people.

Kevitt also cited the problem of drivers fleeing following a crash because the penalties for hit-and-run are more lenient than for DUI.

“That is a huge factor and that is where the law needs to catch up,” he said.

Kevitt added that reducing traffic congestion by adding surface area on streets has not been successful in Los Angeles and that using alternative means of transportation is a more effective way of reducing vehicle congestion.

However, we’re not likely to reduce congestion until people feel safer using other forms of transportation on those congested streets.

Egg, meet chicken.

The paper also reminds us about the petition to install a red light camera at Fountain and Gardner.

Which has gathered less than 250 signatures so far, when it should be at least ten times that number by now.

So if you haven’t signed it yet, do it already.

………

The same day an Englewood, Colorado bike rider was seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued a Medina Alert, which is their version of a hit-and-run alert.

Which is exactly how it’s supposed to work.

Maybe someone should tell that to the cops here.

Because the hit-and-run alert programs for both Los Angeles and California were copied from Colorado’s successful program, which itself was based on the very successful program patterned after the Amber alert system that originated in Denver.

The only difference is they use it, and we don’t. Which just might have something to do with why Colorado solved every felony hit-and-run in 2022, while only around 20% ever get solved in California.

Or maybe they just care enough to devote the resources necessary to solve them, and the cops and elected leaders out here don’t.

But at least the LAPD only waited two days to ask for the public’s help this time.

………

A new video game allows you to ride a magical bike through a massive open world in search of some legendary bike part; The Verge calls it “the feel-good game of the summer.”

………

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

No bias here. New York bike riders are understandably frustrated after a nearly 1,000% increase in bike traffic tickets in the second quarter of this year — except their now criminal summons, which require recipients to appear before a judge in criminal court, rather than traffic court.

………

Local 

A Hollywood judge will now determine whether a 62-year old Pasadena man will stand trial for killing his wife, dismembering her and stuffing her remains in a suitcase, then taking his bicycle on a train, riding his bike to North Figueroa and setting the suitcase on fire in a Home Depot parking lot, after his attorney questioned the man’s mental competency. Gee, ya think?

Burbank unveiled its draft Safer Street action plan, including plans for traffic calming measures on nine separate streets; you can weigh in at the August 12th city council meeting.

 

State

Calbike shares strategies used by local advocates in two California cities to add bikeways to state roadways.

Chula Vista became the latest California city to crack down on ebike riders, although they put off enforcement of the new restrictions for 90 days.

Just like West Hollywood last weekend, nearly 100 people in San Rafael gathered outside City Hall Monday evening to honor a “beloved husband, coach and cyclist” who was killed while riding his bike last month, and demand that the city fix the dangerous intersection where he was was run down by a driver.

 

National

Bike Mag examines the impact Black Sabbath and the late Ozzy Osbourne had on mountain biking.

They get it. A Bend, Oregon newspaper says if the state wants more people to ride bikes, it has to invest in bike safety; if not, maybe the city’s bike riders should just stay home.

Seattle Bike Blog says riding your bike to transit is the ultimate hack to get around the city’s freeway construction this summer — and every other day, too.

Two people have already died during this week’s RAGBRAI ride across Iowa, despite receiving prompt medical attention from medical professionals taking part in the multi-day event; meanwhile, the 140-member Air Force Cycling Team is riding along with the RAGBRAI participants to provide assistance to anyone who needs it.

A Milwaukee driver faces up to 31 years behind bars for — allegedly — blowing through a red light and seriously injuring a man riding in a bike lane, while a) FaceTiming with a contracting customer b) smoking a joint, c) driving on a suspended license, and d) driving a car belonging to someone else.

An Atlanta city councilmember got a first-hand look at the dangers bike riders face on the roads, when he was struck by a driver making a U-turn, while he was riding his bike home from a soccer match with his four-year old daughter; his attorney says his bike was properly lit and he was doing everything right.

A new video series tries to normalize bike riding as it follows Tampa, Florida ebike riders on their way to local businesses.

 

International

A Canadian woman just set new Guinness World Records for the fastest speed on a Penny Farthing by a woman at 25.93 mph, and the fastest women’s one kilometer on a Penny Farthing. But bikes like that have only been around for 150 years, so no big deal. 

Friends of a Brazilian man who was killed while riding his bike in London last year plan to reinstall his ghost bike, after it was removed by the Tower Hamlets council just three months later without consulting his family or friends.

An English man discovers there’s nothing like working as a food delivery rider to train for an epic bike ride from the UK to Australia.

A bike-riding man in Singapore faces up to five years behind bars for killing a 70-year old pedestrian by failing to “keep a proper lookout” while riding his bike across an intersection.

 

Competitive Cycling

Italian cyclist Jonathan Milan won his second stage in this year’s Tour de France in a sprint to the finish after a big crash took down a number of riders, including Eritrean Biniam Girmay.

French gendarmes were quick to take down an imposter who tried to ride his bike across the finish line of yesterday’s stage just ahead of the peloton.

Velo offers the “ultimate guide” to all the bikes, components and gear used by the 22 teams competing in the Tour de France Femmes, aka Women’s Tour de France, which kicks off on Saturday.

A 68-year old Phoenix, Arizona woman is the world’s oldest elite-level paracyclist.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you borrow a kids bike to pedal to your first day of NFL training camp. Or when you go over your handlebars, and a TV reporter interrupts his live remote to ensure you’re okay.

And when you’re a convicted felon and known gang member illegally carrying a loaded weapon on your bike, just don’t ride salmon, already.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Man riding bike killed by hit-and-run driver in North Hollywood Monday night; 5th bike rider to die in LA County since end of June

July 22, 2025 / / No comments

Yet another life has been taken by a heartless coward who didn’t have the basic human decency to stop afterwards.

According to My News LA, a 52-year old man was killed by a hit-and-run driver while trying to ride his bike across a North Hollywood street Monday night.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was trying to cross Lankershim Blvd south of Arminta Street around 10:55 pm when he was struck by the driver of an older-model silver Dodge Ram pickup traveling south on Lankershim.

He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The driver continued driving south without stopping.

KTLA-5 reports that the victim was riding outside of the crosswalk, which is absolutely irrelevant since there is no requirement for bicyclists to use one. And just like drivers, they are entitled to move from one side of the street to the other, whether turning, crossing or making a U-turn.

So the question is whether the victim had the right-of-way, which could depend on where the driver came from and how fast they were going.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Valley Traffic Bureau Detective Otrosina at 818/644-8036, or Detective Martinez at 818/644-8033.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.

This is at least the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fifth we’ve learned about in the City of Los Angeles.

This was the fifth person to die riding a bicycle in LA County in less than a month, and the ninth SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. 

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

73-year old man busted for fatal WeHo hit-and-run, new CicLAvia maps revealed, and we all need a pro-bike guidebook

July 17, 2025 / / No comments
Day 198 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

They got him, for once.

Allegedly, anyway.

Multiple sources are reporting that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 73-year old man for last week’s hit-and-run death of fallen bicyclist Blake Ackerman.

Douglas Morton Adams was arrested Tuesday on a charge of hit-and-run causing death, and released latter that same day on $50,000 bond.

Adams is accused of running Ackerman down from behind as on Fountain Ave near Gardner, and continuing west on Fountain without stopping.

Authorities said he was arrested after witnesses and tipsters helped identify his car. WeHo Times credits Florida resident Shanna Meade with giving investigators a video of Adams’ car and license plate.

Despite the arrest, the case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to call LA County Sheriff’s traffic investigators at the West Hollywood station at 310/855-8850.

Unless additional charges are filed, Adams faces a maximum of four years behind bars under California’s lenient hit-and-run laws.

Meanwhile, more than 60 people turned out for a ghost bike installation honoring Blake Ackerman near the site of the crash Wednesday morning.

Matt Parker, one of Ackerman’s closest friends, gave a moving statement, while his fiancé and friends wrote personal messages on the freshly painted white bike.

Ackerman had recently returned to Los Angeles to work as associate at DTLA law firm Morgan Lewis. He was likely returning home from a late day at work when he was killed, have just taken up bike commuting and transit use rather than driving.

The ghost bike ceremony was organized by the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition with assistance from Streets Are For Everyone.

A larger vigil will be held Friday starting at 6 pm at Fountain and Gardner, followed by a short march to West Hollywood City Hall for a rally and press conference.

Everyone is urged to attend to call for safer streets in WeHo, and throughout the area.

And yes, I mean everyone.

Today’s photos show the newly installed ghost bike for Blake Ackerman, along with the installation ceremony.

………

CicLAvia unveiled the map for October’s Heart of LA CicLAvia, marking the 15th anniversary of America’s largest open streets event.

Although someone should tell NBC4 that if you’re going to do a story about a new CicLAvia map, you should at least include it.

However, there are two events preceding it, in August and September.

………

Good question.

Having seen the congestion, safety, and emergency access arguments deployed against bike lanes in literally hundreds of places, why have we not developed a little guidebook or something on how to deal with them?

— Bike Talk (@biketalk.bsky.social) 2025-07-17T00:52:51.247Z

As I recall, back in the dark ages when I served on the board, staffers at the former Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition — now BikeLA — developed a short guide on how to respond to common objections.

But it really would make sense for someone to pen a handbook with effective arguments against the most common complaints, which would undoubtedly become an instant best seller.

………

Call it elder abuse.

Anyone who is still riding a bicycle at 85 deserves better than to be killed by an alleged drunk driver, like this man in Portland, Oregon.

The same goes for an 83-year of British Columbia woman killed by the driver of a semi truck, who played the international Get Out of Jail Free card by claiming he didn’t see her.

………

People For Bikes says there are six things any city can do to improve bicycling, using the acronym SPRINT:

  • safe speeds
  • protected bike lanes
  • reallocated space
  • intersection improvements
  • network connections
  • trusted data

………

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

No bias here. London’s walking and cycling commissioner decries the “antagonism” between bicyclists and motorists on social media, saying it’s “not representative of real life.” But all the Evening Standard wants to talk about is his statement that some bike riders “are idiots” — even though he included motorists in that statement, too.

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

An English bicyclist calls for building a pump track so kids will stop digging up woodlands and damaging ancient archaeological artifacts in search of somewhere to ride.

………

Local 

Los Angeles Magazine offers an oral history of Pee-wee Herman’s iconic bike from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure; six bikes were made for the 1985 movie by the Pedal Pusher bike shop in Newport Beach, one of which will soon find a well-deserved home at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

 

State

A California political newsletter consider’s Vista’s move to remove the protection from the city’s protected bike lanes, after “overwhelming feedback” from bicyclists. Thanks to Phillip for the heads-up.

Chico breaks ground on a new bike track that will bring state-of-the-art amenities for riders. Presumably without damaging any ancient archaeological artifacts. 

 

National

Walmart has issued a recall of 200 children’s bikes that pose a risk of illness or death due to excessive levels of lead; parents are urged to destroy the bikes sold under the SPPTTY brand.

National Guard service members and Air Force reservists have joined the search for a 52-year old Oregon man who disappeared after leaving for a mountain bike ride last Friday.

Two men from Grand Rapids, Michigan are way ahead of schedule on their fundraising ride to Los Angeles to benefit Pedal to the Rescue, a nonprofit on a mission to support the heroes who fought LA’s wildfires, on track to finish the ride in half of the 82 days originally estimated.

No surprise here, as four of New York’s five boroughs rank at the top of a new analysis of active transportation in the US, led by Manhattan, where 60% of all trips are taken on foot or bike. Needless to say, auto-centric Los Angeles didn’t even make the list.

 

International

Momentum recommends international alternatives to Airbnb for your next bike tour.

Road.cc suggest ten things you really shouldn’t copy from the pros. Although I could add an 11th, like doping, for instance. 

Cycling Weekly tests four of the best road bikes for under $2,400, and says you can get a lot more for your money than you could ten years ago. Tell me about it. I spent about that much for a 2014 LeMond, which doesn’t hold a candle to today’s bikes. Although putting a candle on a bike doesn’t make a lot of sense. 

Um, okay. Dame Joan Collins — yes, that Joan Collins — pens a confusing “diary” post that starts with complaints about the British prime minister, even though it’s about the invasion of Lime Bikes, or maybe an invasion of immigrants on Lime Bikes, before moving on in truly Trumpian fashion to talk about hard working movie people and telling Ingrid Bergman’s daughter to bugger off.

German direct-to-consumer mountain bike brand YT declares financial insolvency and enters a “self-administered legal restructure,” meaning they will continue to run the company with outside oversight.

Um, okay, too. A new Chinese study examines “The nonlinear relationship between built environment and cycling propensity for different travel purposes − based on extreme gradient boosting decision tree.”

 

Competitive Cycling

Tragic news from Italy’s Giro della Valle d’Aosta, where 19-year old Italian cyclist Samuele Privitera died following a crash on Wednesday’s stage 1; Privitera was a member of the Jayco AlUla World Tour team, owned and managed by Alex Merckx, son of the legendary Eddy Merckx. Stage 2 was cancelled following Privitera’s death.

Velo says Wednesday’s stage 11 of the Tour de France was the “wildest day of racing yet” amid “wire to wire chaos,” as Norwegian cyclist Jonas Abrahamsen won in what ended as a day-long two man breakaway.

Tadej Pogačar crashed in the closing moments Wednesday, but say’s he’s “quite ok” after “losing a bit of skin;” his crash came with around 4km — 2.5 miles — to go, outside of the 3km safety zone. However, race leader Ben Healy slowed the pace to allow Pogačar to catch up to the leaders.

Norway’s Tobias Johannessen admitting causing Pogačar’s crash, saying he was “terrified” by the online abuse he received afterwards.

An anti-Israel protester attempted to disrupt the final sprint of the stage, jumping over the barricade and running opposite the cyclists wearing a T-shirt reading “Israel Out of the Tour” while waving a black and white keffiyeh, before he was tackled by a security official.

Bike Radar goes “in search of the truth” about how clean pro cycling really is, 12 years after Lance came clean about not riding clean.

Easy Reader presents a recap of Sunday’s 62nd Annual Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix.

 

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to ride a stolen scooter to your appointment at the police station. It may not be the best idea to ride a bike with a live cobra around your neck, either.

And that feeling when you get overnight delivery by Porsche for your newly painted yellow bike.

You know, to match that new yellow jersey.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Let’s end hit-and-runs once and for all, Mid-City Neighborhood Greenways break ground, and tell LADOT we can do better

July 16, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 197 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Let’s call this a trial balloon.

For years now, I’ve been calling for an end to hit-and-runs, in a region where nearly half of all collisions end with a fleeing driver, according to a report from LA Weekly that is no longer online.

Although to be fair, the LAPD has consistently said that roughly 33% percent of all collisions are hit-and-runs, based on COMPSTAT data, less than 10% of which ever get solved. In fact, most are never investigated if someone isn’t dead or seriously injured

But either way, it’s too damn high.

While the legislature has worked around the edges to address the problem, those efforts haven’t gone nearly far enough to put the slightest dent into the problem.

So I’m proposing a simplified version of the reforms I’ve been calling for, to see what you think, before I try starting a petition and taking it to legislators and advocacy groups.

You can leave your thoughts in the comments below.

  1. Make the penalty for hit-and-run equal to the penalty for DUI, including fines, jail time and license suspensions, to remove one of the primary incentives to flee.
  2. Anyone who leaves the scene of a KSI crash — Killed or Serious Injury — will automatically have their license revoked by the DMV, regardless of any criminal conviction or plea,
  3.  Anyone who leaves the scene of a KSI crash will have their car impounded as evidence once it’s found; upon conviction, the car will be sold and the proceeds donated to a victim’s fund, after any loans or liens are payed off.
  4. Prosecutors should have the option of charging drivers with 2nd degree murder, or attempted murder, for making the conscious decision to flee and leave the victim to suffer the consequences.

That’s it.

It is, admittedly, a tough approach.

But it’s the only approach I’m aware of that will remove the incentive to flee, while making the penalty harsh enough to make drivers think twice. Or three times, even.

And let’s be honest. Anyone who flees a serious crash has already demonstrated that they can’t be trusted to be obey the law, and shouldn’t be allowed on the streets.

So now it’s your turn. What do you think?

………

Streetsblog is reporting that Los Angeles finally broke ground on the long-gestating Mid-City Neighborhood Greenways, a project originally put together by the Mid-City Neighborhood Council to connect Mid-City with Hollywood.

And I promise that’s the last time I’m going to use the phrase Mid-City here. Unless it isn’t.

As I recall, the project was originally proposed in those heady days before the pandemic, so it’s been in a works for quite awhile.

The neighborhood greenway will be one of the city’s few examples of a bicycle boulevard, or a series of bicycle priority streets, similar to Santa Monica’s successful Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway, aka MANGo.

It will run on on Rosewood Ave, Formosa Ave and Orange Drive to connect La Cienega and Hollywood boulevards, through a series of diverters, traffic circles and protected bike lanes to provide a low-stress, relatively carfree route through the Mid-City area.

Oops.

………

Streets For All says we can do better than an unprotected bike lane on Alameda and Spring streets, and want you to tell LADOT so.

………

Here are the full details for today’s ghost bike installation for Blake Ackerman, as well as Friday’s vigil and rally.

………

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

A Portland, Oregon certified League Cycling Instructor was back on his bike just ten days after he was intentionally run down by a road-raging driver.

The pendulum is continuing to swing on New York Mayor Eric Adams’ efforts to rip out a protected bike lane in Brooklyn, after an appellate judge issued a temporary restraining order to halt the demolition, just days after a judge said it could go forward.

No bias here. A bike rider in Lancashire, England was falsely told a ban on bicycling was caused because a bicyclist hit a pedestrian — then it turned out they posted the “No Bicycling” sign in the wrong part of town.

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

Or maybe not. According to a British paper, a motorcyclist was critically injured in a crash with a bikeshare bike, which apparently didn’t have a rider, unless maybe it was the other guy who wasn’t seriously injured.

………

Local 

Santa Monica expanded the list of items prohibited from public demonstrations, but the city council could re-examine a ban on bike helmets, which could lead to a $500 fine unless someone is actively riding a bicycle.

 

State

Sad news from Chula Vista, where a memorial is growing for an eight-year old boy who was killed by a motorist while riding a scooter Sunday afternoon.

More on the complaints from business owners on Black Mountain Road in San Diego’s Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood, who somehow don’t think their businesses can survive the loss of just 30 to 40 parking spaces. As if their customers won’t walk a few more feet to visit them, and a safer road for bike riders doesn’t offer the potential to bring them far more customers.

National City received a $2 million grant from the Port of San Diego to help complete a segment of the 24-mile Bayshore Bikeway. Thanks to Megan for the heads-up. 

I want to be like him when I grow up. A press release says 85-year old Bonita resident Jacobo Melcer is “inspiring a regional health movement” through his training to break the age-group hour record in the fall.

Caltrans awarded $14 million to the Silicon Valley’s Valley Transportation Authority to fund initial planning work for a bicycle superhighway between Santa Clara and San Jose.

Great idea. School teachers and administrators in Davis can get a free bicycle when they agree to become Roll Models with The Bike Campaign.

 

National

Bicycling lifted their paywall to offer “expert tips from a veteran bike messenger” to help you master bike commuting without stress.

New Mexico’s Picuris Pueblo, one of 21 Native American nations that have survived for centuries in the region, is investing in its own community with the newest bike park in the US, which will open with a competition offering more than $8,000 in total prize money.

Wyoming’s 80-mile Tour de Wyoming is called one of the best bike tours in the US — and one of the most exclusive, with just 250 participants selected in an annual lottery.

A 66-year old woman was killed when she fell after hitting a speed bump while descending a hill in Watertown NY, weeks after the bike community warned that they could pose a danger to people on bicycles.

New Jersey broke ground on the nation’s newest rail-to-trail conversion to convert “zombie tracks” into an 8.6-mile bike and walk greenway.

 

International

Road.cc offers everything you always wanted to know about bike cams but were afraid to ask.

The organizers of British Columbia’s Okanagan Granfondo are under fire following a crash killed one man and injured two others when a driver slammed into a group of riders, and organizers allowed the fondo to continue as if nothing happened.

A new report from Toronto demonstrates the need to rethink urban bicycling for older adults, who need safer places to ride and better mobility options for healthy aging.

Three men confessed to rioting in Cardiff, Wales after two teenage boys were killed when they crashed their ebike while being followed by police.

Bloomberg examines how Dutch-style protected intersections are coming to save American bike riders and pedestrians.

Advocacy groups in the Netherlands argue that separate bike lanes for faster riders and better enforcement of illegal ebikes would be more effective than a planned speed limit for bike riders.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo examines why Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard both rode their aero bikes on the first mountain stage of the Tour de France.

If cycling events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics remain on the current dates, it could conflict with the Tour de France, forcing the ’28 Tour to start weeks earlier and throwing off the year’s entire cycling calendar.

 

Finally…

Don’t try riding with no hands or popping a wheelie in this town. You haven’t partied until a Black carnival on bikes comes to town.

And you haven’t lived until you’ve ridden a gelato-themed rapping bike saddle. No, really.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Ghost bike and rally for fallen WeHo bike rider, the worst states for bike commuters, and LA pays dearly for Deadly del Mar

July 15, 2025 / / No comments
Day 196 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Let’s start with an update on 26-year old Blake Ackerman, the lawyer and bike commuter killed by a hit-and-run driver in West Hollywood last Thursday.

A ghost bike will be installed tomorrow at 9 am in a small ceremony at Fountain Ave and Gardner Street. The public is welcome to attend.

A larger vigil will be held on Friday, July 18th, starting at 6 pm at Fountain and Gardner, followed by a short march to West Hollywood City Hall for a rally and press conference. Everyone is urged to attend and participate.

And I do mean everyone.

And yes, that includes me this time.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding page to raise funds to support Blake’s mother and sister has raised nearly $160,000 of the newly increased $200,000 goal.

There’s still no word on the identity of the heartless coward in a white, older-model BMW sedan who left Blake Ackerman in the street.

It’s also worth taking some time to look over WeHo’s two-year old Vision Zero Plan. Because Fountain isn’t the only street that needs to be fixed before it’s too late.

Again.

Photo of Blake Ackerman in better days from GoFundMe page.

………

A new study from a bike insurer ranks Texas as the nation’s second-worst state of bike commuters, behind only South Carolina.

California comes in at a relatively safe 18th best. Which really makes you wonder just how bad the other 32 states behind us must be.

Vermont was rated the best state for bike commuters, followed by Oregon, Minnesota, Alaska and West Virginia.

………

They get it.

Streets For All says Los Angeles is caught in a money-draining spiral of spending millions to pay for deaths and injuries caused by our dangerous streets, rather than spending to fix the streets and avoid the damn injuries in the first place.

As a prime example, they call out Playa Vista’s Deadly del Mar, aka Vista del Mar, where 20 people have been killed in the past 20 years.

That includes five deaths since 2017, when the city briefly installed safety improvements following a nearly $10 million settlement for the death of a 16-year old girl, which were promptly ripped out at the order of former “World Climate” Mayor Eric Garcetti to appease entitled commuters from Manhattan Beach.

(Click this link if Elon Musk’s “improvements” keep the video from embedding.)

………

An anonymous source forwards a Reddit post highlighting a problem too many people fail to consider, myself included, as a Deaf Scottish woman posts a plea for a little more consideration from bike riders on shared trails.

(Click on the post if it doesn’t embed in full)

Cyclists of Edinburgh, I ask a favour please
byu/VoiceDouble217 inEdinburgh

I have always relied on a shouted “passing on your left” to warn others of my approach. But neither that nor a bike bell will do any good if the other person can’t hear you.

She then followed up on the over 100 replies her post received with this.

“Thanks all for the comments and insights, really helpful!” she said. “Not intending to diss cyclists or anything; I know people have opinions of them.

“My post genuinely was just asking for a bit of respect/shared responsibility although some people don’t seem to get that my being deaf, they seem to think it’s somehow my fault for nearly getting spooked by someone coming behind me.”

As the person who emailed me points out,

It is an important issue to raise because hearing people don’t often think about the fact that sometimes yelling or a horn is not going to be effective. Deaf people are more likely to respond to lights, but even that might not work if you’re coming up behind someone on a path in the open so slow down and avoid close passes of people moving more slowly than you are.

My emailer also pointed out something else I was familiar with, but maybe don’t consider as often as I should, referring to a story based on the Reddit post from Scotland’s Daily Record, which seemed more biased against bicyclists.

They also lower cased “Deaf” when the OP clearly identifies as upper case “Deaf” (which is not just a medical condition, but a culture and thus capitalized when someone identifies as part of that culture).

It’s very easy to go through life — and yes, riding a bicycle — seeing it only from the lens of someone who is hearing and sighted. But it’s important that we also consider the needs, safety and dignity of those who aren’t.

………

Bike Talk talks tactical urbanism in two cities, with diametrically different results.

In our last episode, we talked to bike activists in two cities who made their own bike lanes with opposite results. soundcloud.com/biketalk/252… @pattybikes.com @cascadebicycleclub.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social @seattlebikeblog.com #bikesky

— Bike Talk (@biketalk.bsky.social) 2025-07-15T02:22:45.709Z

………

Okay, that is a little close.

………

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

Despite the Ontario provincial governments efforts to rip them out, most Toronto residents support bike lanes and mixed-use roads.

Huh? A rightwing commentator says the solution to Britain’s immigration crisis is to make all aspiring British citizens pass the country’s cycling proficiency test.

A Dublin, Ireland journalist says that as a new bike rider, she’s “astonished” by the amount of aggression she saw from drivers on her daily commute.

………

Local 

Next City says Denver solved it’s sidewalk problem by reclaiming responsibility for fixing broken sidewalks from property owners, suggesting it could be a solution for Los Angeles, aka “the city of broken sidewalks” in the words of the late, great Donald Shoup.

Streetsblog calls attention to a series of Metro meetings continuing this week and next to discuss the NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit project, and the Sepulveda Transit rail project to connect the Valley with West Los Angeles, where rich Bel Air residents are demanding an inefficient monorail so no one will have to dig a subway tunnel under their very expensive homes.

Santa Monica hosts yet another in a continuing series of bicycle and pedestrian safety operations in SoCal cities, this time on Friday, July 18, 2025 from 5 am to 8 pm. Even though they say it’s targeted at dangerous driver behaviors, police are legally required to enforce the law equally against all violators, regardless of mode of travel. So ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line so you’re not the one who gets ticketed. 

West Hollywood sheriff’s deputies issued just 46 tickets during their recent bicycle and pedestrian safety operation, but it doesn’t break down who got the tickets or why.

 

State

Laguna Beach is looking for public input on a proposal to build a mountain bike pump track.

San Francisco wants to expand the Embarcadero protected bike lane, which would require removing up to 30 parking spaces and 15 palms trees. Which is okay because palms are just giant grasses that suck up water and don’t shade anything. 

She gets it. A San Francisco letter writer says “If you oppose bike lanes, pedestrian improvements or expanding public transit, you’re voting for more congestion.”

Residents of the Bay Area’s Alameda County can enter a lottery to receive up to $1,500 towards the purchase of an ebike from the local energy company. To which LA’s DWP responds <crickets>.

Sacramento city officials are upset that the city received a failing grade in People For Bikes new City Ratings, arguing they should have been rated higher. Never mind that Sacramento was rated a full ten points higher than lowly Los Angeles, and not one city official here even gave a damn. 

 

National

Authorities in Oregon are using drones to search for a 52-year old man described as an experienced mountain biker, who disappeared after leaving on a ride Friday morning; searchers found his cellphone in his car, which could have helped pinpoint his location. Which is a reminder to never, ever leave yours behind when you ride. 

Thousands of bike riders took part in the annual 200-mile Seattle to Portland bike ride.

It’s now illegal for Utah drivers to block a bike lane. And yes, Deseret News, that does make it safer for everyone. 

A New Mexico letter writer says most drivers are really polite and considerate, and have your best interests at heart — but if you want to stay safe, you need to dress like a DayGlo clown. Sadly, he may have a point. About that last part, anyway. 

That’s more like it. An Indiana festival combines bicycles, whiskey and bluegrass. So who’s going with me?

An MIT transportation researcher and self-identified car enthusiast says you can love cars, and still support public transportation and decarbonization.

Six hundred people from 37 states descended on New York to bike the full 400 miles of the Erie Canal to mark the canal’s 250th anniversary.

A Manhattan community board called out New York’s mayor for cutting bike and bike lanes out of his auto-centric redesign of the city’s iconic 5th Avenue.

Seriously? A study from a Florida law firm shows that Bay County is the state’s most dangerous county for bicyclists — but instead of demanding safer streets or better drivers, a Florida political site says “wear a helmet.”

 

International

For once, police in the UK are asking for someone riding a bicycle to come forward when they’re not in trouble, as police in Yorkshire look for a bike rider who may have witnessed a driver kill a pedestrian.

An Irish food delivery rider settled a lawsuit over a dooring for the equivalent of $70,000, which required surgery to fix a broken little finger.

Dutch advocacy groups says forget helmets and bicycle speed limits, and upgrade the infrastructure, instead.

A pair of New Zealand Olympians are riding 2,500 miles through Africa to train for the ’28 Games while raising funds to buy bicycles for people in the towns they’re riding through.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Tour de France peloton stormed into Tuesday’s rest day with a major upset, as Irishman Ben Healy took the yellow jersey off Tadej Pogačar’s back, moving from nearly four minutes back to become the first Irish cyclist in yellow since Stephen Roche in 1987.

Britain’s Simon Yates celebrated Bastille Day by winning the Tour’s stage 10 yesterday, coming out on the right end of a long-range breakaway that was slowly whittled down from 28 cyclists to just six at the end.

Bike Radar visits France’s volcanic Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which hosted the finish of Monday’s Tour de France stage for the first time in the race’s 122-year history.

A Mexican news site celebrates the country’s newest cycling star, after 21-year old Isaac del Toro won last week’s Tour of Austria, to go with his second place finish in the Giro.

 

Finally…

You know things have gone too far when even Jesus objects to ebikes. If you see a pedestrian in a bike lane ahead of you, should you blame the government or deploy torpedos?

And when you’re riding a bike on the 4th of July while smoking crack, and with an outstanding warrant on a meth charge, put a damn light on it, already.

And don’t be a famous musician, for Pete’s sake.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries  
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee