Tag Archive for hit-and-run

Hit-and-run victim left in Boyle Heights, Westchester/Playa NC talks Pershing Drive safety, and CA legislature talks DUI

March 3, 2026 / / No comments

Not again.

For the second time in just over a month, someone has been found down next to a bicycle in a Boyle Heights intersection after an apparent hit-and-run.

But this time, the victim was still alive, though severely injured.

According to KTLA-5, the victim was discovered at Cesar Chavez Ave and Fickett Street around 11:18 Sunday night, just two miles from where a man was found dead at 7th Street and Boyle Ave on January 29th.

There’s no information at this time on the identity of the victim, or any description of the suspect vehicle or the driver.

A photo from the scene shows a dark colored bicycle with flat handlebars, with a plastic shopping bag hanging from the left handgrip.

Let’s hope the victim makes a full and fast recovery.

And that police find the heartless coward who left them there.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

………

The Westchester Playa del Rey Neighborhood Council is hosting a special meeting tonight to discuss traffic safety improvements around Pershing and Manchester.

Apparently, it only took the death of a 36-year old mother and her unborn baby to spur them into action, and consider re-reversing the Complete Streets improvements that were installed in 2017, then ripped out later that same year to appease angry motorists.

Not to mention business owners who somehow thought they’d get more sales from drivers zooming past, usually without stopping, than from people who could safely walk or bike to their establishments.

But hey, if I sound disgusted, it’s only because I am.

So if you live, work, walk or bike in the area, or know anyone who does, you owe it to yourself to be there tonight. Or at the very least, take the survey from CD11’s Traci Park.

………

We’ve recently featured Calmatters‘ excellent License to Kill series discussing California’s lax DUI laws, and how the state seemingly goes out of its way to keep dangerous drivers on the streets.

So I thought I’d share a legislative update I received yesterday from CalMatters Investigative Editor Andrew Donohue.

 

Really quick:

The Legislature has planned a number of hearings in the coming days that I thought you might want to know about.

Tomorrow (March 3): The Assembly Public Safety Committee will take up discussion on a bill to tighten punishments for repeat drunk drivers and another bill to close a diversion loophole that allows people charged with vehicular manslaughter to avoid having the case on their driving record.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. You can attend in person (room 126 of the State Capitol) or remotely. The bills are two of many issues on the agenda.

The bills address two issues we’ve covered in our investigation: the state’s weak DUI laws and how the diversion program means you can face more consequences for a speeding ticket than a deadly crash.

(The committee is also slated to tackle two more related bills the following week.)

March 10: The Senate Transportation Committee will hold an informational hearing titled “Examining California’s DUI and Traffic Safety Laws.” It’s the first such hearing in well over a decade.

We don’t yet know who will be speaking, but it will begin at 1:30 pm at 1021 O Street, Room 1200. You can also stream the live video or audio.

If you can’t make these hearings but would love to watch or read what happened after, we’ll also have access to recordings and a transcript. If you’d like me to send those to you when they become available, reply to this email and let me know.

………

Streetsblog reports LADOT will host a couple meetings to discuss the long overdue safety changes to Westwood Blvd.

Starting Thursday 3/5 – The L.A. City Transportation Department (LADOT) will host two Westwood Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project public input meetings. The in-person meeting will be Thursday 3/5 from 6-8 p.m. at Westwood’s Village Square at 1109 Westwood Boulevard. The virtual meeting will take place on Thursday 3/19 from 6-8 p.m. via Zoom. Details at LADOT newsletter.

………

Ask, and ye shall be answered.

………

Is Ed Sheeran one of us, or is it just AI?

………

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

The decision to reverse an Encinitas CA Complete Streets project means the city will rip out a protected bike lane in front of a public high school with more than two thousand students.

Middlesbrough, England is removing what’s been called the UK’s “most hated” bike lane, after it was criticized for causing injuries and offering a “clear getaway” for shoplifters and drug dealers — never mind that it will cost over a million dollars more to remove the four-year old bikeway than it cost to put in.

Someone in the UK seems to be responsible for an epic screwup, after a 13-year old girl was injured falling off a scooter on a new bike lane, where the red grit surface somehow wasn’t bonded to the roadway.

………

Local 

Culver City is creating a weekly bike bus starting at 8 am today, and continuing every Tuesday going forward.

West Hollywood is responding to a rash of residential burglaries by putting sheriff’s deputies on bicycles, which gives them the ability to respond quickly, go where patrol cars can’t, and roll up silently on suspects and crime scenes.

Burbank will post a table on the Chandler Bikeway from 9 am to 12:30 pm this Saturday to answer questions and solicit input about planned bicycle infrastructure in the city, focusing on the upcoming extension of the Chandler Bikeway; you’ll find them at the east end of the bike path at Chandler Blvd and Mariposa Street.

 

State

Sad news from bike-friendly Davis, where a woman riding a bicycle was killed in a collision with a teen ebike rider on a popular bike path.

 

National

He gets it. A writer for Mountain Bike Action pens an open letter to the bike industry, saying we need to stop calling anything with an electric motor an ebike, and create clear distinctions between electric bicycles, electric mopeds and electric motorcycles.

A surprising new mural in the Downtown Las Vegas Arts District celebrates the Southern Nevada Bicycle Coalition’s “Let’s Get There Together” safety campaign. I mean, who knew Las Vegas even had an arts district?

They get it, too. Police in St. George, Utah cited a driver for hitting a bike-riding boy in a right-hook crash, leaving the kid with minor injuries; she was cited even though a cop said utility boxes and the position of the sun could have obscured her view of the boy, adding “Regardless, you still have to yield the right of way, especially when you’re at stop signs.” Can we hire that guy to be our LAPD police chief? Pretty please?

A Sioux Falls software engineer has ridden his bicycle to work every day for the past ten years, continuing a streak that began in 2016. Which isn’t easy to do through a single South Dakota winter, let alone ten.

That’s more like it. A 69-year old Louisiana man was sentenced to 9 years behind bars for the hit-and-run that killed a 67-year old man riding a bicycle, along with six months for driving while intoxicated, to be served consecutively. Or concurrently. Or maybe both.

A 30-year old Greensboro, North Carolina man has pled guilty to scamming bicycle companies out of tens of thousands of dollars worth of high-end bikes by posing as a North Carolina-based bicyclist and YouTuber with nearly 4 million followers on his two channels.

Nope, no bias here. A Florida county discusses “essential safety protocols and the legal responsibilities shared by all road users” with a huge graphic listing a dozen safety accessories for people on bicycles, along with advice to use that safety equipment, wear a properly fitting bike helmet and replace it after a crash, and follow the same laws as drivers and use hand signals — then tells drivers to just remain vigilant and give bike riders at least three feet passing distance.

 

International

Momentum says London’s annual Tweed Run could be the quirkiest bike ride on the planet, as participants dress in their finest early 20th Century attire.

Dubliners make over half a million journeys by bike and foot every day, after investing the equivalent of nearly $700 million in active transportation over just the past five years, in a metro area with a population of less than 1.4 million.

South African seniors are taking advantage of the coastal climate and the health benefits of bicycling by taking up gravel riding.

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch cyclist Rick Pluimers proves hockey players aren’t the only ones who sacrifice teeth for their sport, after landing face first on the cobbles of Omloop Nieuwsblad. I sacrificed mine to diabetes, so same thing, right?

 

Finally…

That feeling when you finish first in a race after a nearly 40-mile solo breakaway, then get DQ’d for illegal brakes that were legal when you started. Or when your wheel blows up because you didn’t fix a damn flat.

And nothing like a purported eco website apparently using AI to say bike lanes make traffic worse — without apparently knowing there’s a difference between New York City and New York State.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

Why people keep dying: Drunk driver kills bike rider while on bond for DUI, stoned driver with 5 DUIs killed 13-year old boy

February 25, 2026 / / No comments

You’ve got to be kidding.

Life is really cheap in Georgia, where a 30-year old Augusta man was sentenced to a lousy two years behind bars for the hit-and-run that killed a 62-year old man riding a bicycle, while driving at nearly three times the legal alcohol limit.

He was facing up to 15 years for first-degree vehicular homicide. Yet prosecutors negotiated a nearly minuscule plea deal, despite an extensive record of traffic crimes dating back more than a decade — including a pending case for a previous DUI.

According to the Augusta Press,

At the time of the crash, Walker had a pending DUI case from an October 2019 arrest. While awaiting trial on the vehicular homicide charge, he pleaded guilty to the earlier DUI, receiving a one-day jail sentence, probation, a $1,000 fine, and a risk-reduction program requirement from Judge Monique Walker.

Walker’s driving record spans more than a decade, including multiple speeding convictions, driving with a suspended license, attempted eluding of police, and prior DUI allegations. In 2015, he served 40 days in jail for attempting to elude police, driving with a suspended license, and a stop sign violation, as well as 10 days for driving with a suspended license and marijuana possession. His 2019 DUI case lingered in court for years before being resolved during the homicide case proceedings.

Read that again.

One damn day behind bars for driving under the influence, even after he killed someone while driving drunk yet again.

Talk about authorities keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late.

The plea deal also includes credit for time served. And since he has a record of driving without a legal license, we can expect he’ll be back on the street and free to kill again in no time.

Yet just acouple hours away in Savannah, Georgia, prosecutors have thrown the book at another DUI hit-and-run driver, who killed a popular local known as the Flag Man for riding his bike around town carrying an oversized American flag, while driving stoned and with multiple prior DUIs.

That driver faces charges of homicide by vehicle, hit-and-run resulting in death, serious injury by motor vehicle, tampering with evidence, operating a vehicle without a tag, no proof of insurance, driving with a suspended license, and failure to yield right of way to a bicyclist.

Make it make sense.

Photo from Pexels.

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This is the cost of traffic violence.

The parents of a 13-year old Utah boy killed by a drunken hit-and-run driver told a parole board that “you never move on” from the death of a child like that.

The driver was asking for early release from a sell-deserved sentence of up to 15 years behind bars, along with a second term of up to five years — even though he had five — count ’em, five — previous DUIs.

And once again, authorities can take pride in knowing they kept a dangerous driver on the road until it was too late for a 13-year old boy.

And for his family, who will never be the same.

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Famed DJ Diplo is one of us, recording himself riding a bikeshare bike along a busy Miami highway to catch a flight to Milan, where he performed at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

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

An insurance expert criticizes New Jersey’s draconian, “knee-jerk” ebike law, which requires licensing and registration for all ebikes, regardless of power or speed, which he says will be particularly harmful to delivery riders.

No bias here. Traffic tickets issued to London bicyclists dropped by a remarkable two-thirds in just two years, but The Times summarily rejects even the possibility that bike riders are behaving better by blaming it on a drop in the police force.

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

A Scottish letter writer says you can just forget implementing strict liability for drivers who hit bike riders or pedestrians, as long as those darn scofflaw bike riders continue to run red lights and ride in dark clothing without lights.

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Local 

LADOT is hosting a public meeting at 6 pm tomorrow to discuss protected bike lanes on Ohio Blvd, a key east-west bicycling corridor, as part of the Ohio Avenue Safety and Mobility Project; oddly, though, the Los Angeles agency is hosting the meeting at the Collins & Katz YMCA in Santa Monica. Apparently, they couldn’t find any venues in Los Angeles willing to take them.

 

State

The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition is appealing a decision to add a traffic lane and parking spaces in front of Santa Rosa’s downtown mall, which they say would make the street much riskier for people riding bicycles.

 

National

You can find a lot of things while riding your bike with friends, including a litter of abandoned puppies.

That feeling when a bike advocate is behind a Portland neighborhood group’s opposition to replacing the plastic bollards currently protecting marking bike lanes with concrete curbs.

A Portland lawyer accuses the local cops of going easy on drivers who hit bicyclists, especially if the drivers say they’re really, really sorry.

The Washington State legislature is also considering a bill that would create a new category for mopeds and e-motos between ebikes and motorcycles.

Singletracks looks at five of the best mountain bike trails in Nevada, “From high-alpine descents near Lake Tahoe to bone-dry technical lines in the Las Vegas desert.”

Travel site Islands looks forwards to New York’s massive annual TD Five Boro Bike Tour through all of the city’s boroughs. And no, I’m not making the same mistake I made with Montreal, because this time I know Manhattan is an island, as is Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens.

That’s more like it. A 52-year old Rochester, New York man was sentenced to up to seven years behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run that killed a man riding a bicycle last year.

 

International

Momentum readers share why they ride their bikes to work.

Mérida, Yucatán now officially ranks sixth among Latin American cities when it comes to bicycling, even though only 4% of city trips are made by bike.

Brompton is addressing London’s high rate of bike thefts by sending theft victims a loaner bike free for two weeks while they shop for a replacement. That’s actually a brilliant marketing move, providing a free trial of their foldies at the exact time people are shopping.

An Irish woman beats the winter blues by becoming a nearly 100-mile a week bike commuter after moving to France’s Brittany coast.

France’s 434-mile La Voie Bleue has been named the European Cycle Route of the Year at the prestigious Fiets en Wandelbeurs exhibition in Utrecht; the scenic route stretches from Luxembourg to Lyon. 

A Catalan ebike maker was the victim of a massive theft over the weekend, as burglars managed to get away with around a 120 ebikes worth the equivalent of $353,000 after breaking into a Barcelona warehouse.

New Zealand is considering changes to traffic regulations that would allow children under 12 to ride their bikes on the sidewalk for the first time, as well as mandating a roughly three-foot to 4 and a half foot passing distance for bikes and horses, depending on traffic speeds.

 

Competitive Cycling

The New York Times Athletic sports site patiently explains why 19-year old French cyclist Paul Seixas is pro cycling’s superstar in waiting.

Double Paris Olympic champ Kristen Faulkner is back on the boards aiming for track cycling gold at the ’28 Los Angeles Games, after winning two more golds last week at the Pan American track cycling championships.

L39ion of Los Angeles cyclist Jyven Gonzalez won the Elite race at the awkwardly named 4th Annual Alfred Parks “Ketch D Bull Fi Mi” Memorial Race in Belize.

Cycling Weekly examines the soaring costs of getting into youth bike racing, which threatens to keep countless kids out of the sport.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your ebike is taking notes from cars. Or when your bike seat gets a nose job.

And honestly, who among us has not asked a driver to ram us with their car, before riding a bicycle into a creek?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

Man riding ebike against traffic killed in head-on Oxnard crash, hit-and-run; the first driver stayed, while second fled

February 23, 2026 / / 3 comments

This year just keeps getting worse.

As of this weekend, 15 people had already lost their lives riding a bicycle in Southern California this year.

Now you can add yet another victim to that grim list. This time in Oxnard, where a 40-year old man was killed riding an ebike.

And this time only one of the two drivers involved bothered to stick around afterwards.

According to a press release from the Oxnard Police Department, the victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was apparently riding north on the southbound side of Saviers Road near Guava Street around 6:23 pm Sunday when he was struck head-on by a 67-year old pickup driver traveling in the right lane.

That driver stopped after the crash. Police do not believe he was speeding or under the influence

The victim was knocked off his bike by the impact, landing in the next lane, where he was run over by a driver in an SUV. That person continued without stopping, dragging the ebike under their car.

The second driver stopped about a block away to dislodged the ebike from underneath the SUV, then got back in and continued driving south on Saviers. There’s no description at this time of that driver or the suspect SUV.

The victim died at the scene.

It’s not clear from the limited description whether he was riding in the bike lane when he was struck by the first driver, or if he was in the traffic lane next to it.

It’s also not clear whether he was actually riding a ped-assist or throttle-controlled bicycle, or if he was riding e-motorbike or a non-street legal electric dirt bike.

That’s an ongoing problem when anything with two wheels and an electric motor is called an ebike, regardless of how fast or powerful it is.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Oxnard Police Officer Daniel Diaz Sanchez at 805/385-7750, or email daniel.diaz-sanchez@oxnardpd.org, especially after hours. Or you can call the Oxnard Police Department at 805/385-7600.

This the 16th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the second in Ventura County; both were in Oxnard.

Five of those deaths have now involved hit-and-run drivers.

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

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

Ghost bike placement tonight for pregnant woman killed in Playa, and memorial ride Sunday for Long Beach hit-and-run victim

February 19, 2026 / / One comment

Let’s start with a small correction. 

The other day, I tried to make one of my typically lame jokes, about why Islands magazine was writing about Montreal, when it isn’t one. 

Except, as Doug pointed out, it actually is. 

Which I suppose is the Canadian equivalent of not knowing Manhattan is an island. So I’ll just sit over here in the dunce corner for the rest of the day. 

Photo of one of SoCal’s far too many ghost bikes by Matt Tinoco.

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A ghost bike will be placed tonight for 36-year old Regan Cole-Graham, who was killed by an elderly driver while riding with her husband and two sons on Pershing Drive in Playa del Rey — right where a road diet was ripped out to appease angry drivers in 2017, after being installed just months earlier.

I’m also told a heartbreaking little white Strider bike is being prepared to honor her unborn child, who died with her just two months short of full term.

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Long Beach bike groups are hosting a memorial ride for Lori Ann Carreon this Sunday.

According to Bike Long Beach,

…this coming Sunday, a number of Long Beach cycling groups will gather at 4:00 p.m. at 2nd Street and Redondo Avenue for a memorial ride to remember Lori Ann Carreon, the cyclist that was struck and killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver two weeks ago. At 4:30 p.m., the group will ride together to Bixby Park (approximately 1 mile, 2 miles round trip) for a sunset candlelight vigil as they honor her life and come together in community. All are welcome. The ride will be slow and accessible to all. Please ride safely and bring a candle if you’re able.

 

I wish installations and rides like this wen’t necessary. But as long as they are, I’m glad there are still people willing to do it.

And you can get flameless candles online for as little as ten bucks, some of which look pretty realistic if you opt for the flickering variety.

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Streetblog’s Damian Newton says the early reviews are bad on the proposed license plate-mandating ebike legislation we discussed here the other day, as bike safety advocates pan the bill.

And give him extra credit for quoting my comment that it’s just “an asinine political stunt.”

Meanwhile, Calbike wants your input to help fight the damn thing, as well as enforcing existing laws against illegally misrepresenting e-motos as legal ebikes.

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Bike Long Beach is also hosting their next Bikes and Coffee ride Sunday morning, with a nine-mile, no-drop ride exploring the city’s aviation history.

If you’re planning to attend, sign their ride waiver. And you’re encouraged to bring a helmet, bike lock, and repair kit, as well as a bike in working order.

The latter of which would seem to be a prerequisite.

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

No bias here. An English driving academy questions whether bicyclists have a right to the road, while using AI slop to conjure a not-quite right image of a bicyclist riding on the road near a narrow bike path, accompanied by a couple paragraphs of AI written copy.

No bias here, either. An Irish bike lane is scheduled to be redesigned, or maybe removed, after drivers complained it was a pilot program “with no pilot,” and compared it to a “North Korean style” bike lane that left poor, afflicted motorists with nowhere to pull over if they had a flat or engine trouble, while making it impossible for two combine harvesters to pass one another, which must be a common problem there. Although some of those North Korean bike lanes look better than a lot of LA bike lanes. 

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Local 

Eaton Fire recovery charity Lotus Rising LA will host a Lunar New Year bike ride this Saturday through Pasadena and Altadena to celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse.

 

State

Calbike is introducing their new line of bike-themed T-shirts and accessories. Some of them aren’t bad.

About damn time. San Diego is moving forward with a comprehensive plan to lower speed limits “around school zones, business corridors, key pedestrian and bicycle routes, and areas with a history of crashes.” Although in Los Angeles, that last clause could cover the entire city.

A Florida father is planning to ride across the country, from San Diego to the East Coast of Florida, to honor his sister who was killed on 9/11. With all due respect, though, riding across the country is hard, with countless unforeseen obstacles that can derail even the best plans — like when my brother was forced to ride out a tornado in a public restroom. So wake me when someone completes a ride, not when they’re planning one. 

Bike riders in San Francisco will highlight Black history and culture with a five-hour ride through the SoMa, Mission Bay and Bayview neighborhoods, culminating in a block party at the end of the ride.

Manteca has formally banned street takeovers by bicyclists, with a $1,000 fine if you’re caught participating, or a mandatory bike safety course and having their bike impounded for anyone under 16.

 

National

More than 1,100 organizations, including major bikemakers, sounded the alarm over funding cuts to bike and active transportation infrastructure, urging Congress to maintain current levels as it drafts the next national transportation bill.

Mountain Bike Action asks if a new drop bar ebike can erase the line between mountain and gravel bikes. Finally bringing this divided nation together. 

An enterprising 12-year old Bend, Oregon boy is detailing cars to raise money to buy his own ebike. You gotta applaud the spirit, even if kids that young shouldn’t be riding them — especially not throttle-controlled electric motorbikes. 

Sad news from Seattle, where a local TV station announced that a 14-year old spaniel has died, two years after he was the first dog to walk across a new pedestrian freeway overpass. No, really.

LV Sports Biz says Las Vegas paid $800,000 to a Henderson, Nevada firm for a Vision Zero study, but questions what difference that has actually made on the streets.

Over on the other coast, a 67-year old Connecticut man says the Watchman procedure has allowed him to get back on his bike, after 15 years on blood thinners. Yes, I know it’s a healthcare advertorial, but still. 

A New York bike club is suing the city over Central Park’s new 15 mph speed limit, calling it a real threat to active transportation.

 

International

Bike riders in Halifax, Nova Scotia complain that collisions are rising along with bike ridership, as the streets remain dangerous for people on two wheels.

A Welsh police captain has been forced to apologize after a “miscategorized” emergency call left an injured bike rider lying in a busy intersection for more than three hours before an ambulance arrived.

There may be dirty tricks afoot in London’s bikeshare wars, as dockless ebike firm Bolt is accusing its competitors of secretly moving the company’s bikes in the middle of the night to areas where they will get impounded by morning.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website busts a handful of ebike myths, starting with ebikes aren’t just for seniors and lazy people. Both of which could describe me these days. 

A British woman shares the highs and lows of her “magical” 6,214-mile bike ride across Africa, from Kigali, Rwanda to Cape Town, South Africa. Although getting chased by tsetse flies was probably one of the lows. 

New Zealand authorities are belatedly paving over a railroad track running through the middle of a bike path, after a 71-year old man suffered multiple injuries when his bike tire got caught in a rut.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a “Mensa reject” says you can avoid a ticket by putting your car’s license plate on the bike rack. Who needs an ebike when you’ve got an e-ski?

And nothing like pedaling a three-wheeled bike through the Moroccan desert loaded with 21 satellite dishes.

Or maybe on an artfully deconstructed and rearranged bike.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

New slate of bills stiffen CA DUI laws, completely incomplete killer pathway, and raising funds for LB hit-and-run victim

February 18, 2026 / / No comments

With all of yesterday’s holiday greetings, I forgot all about Mardi Gras for the first time since I lived in Louisiana with the Pirate Lafitte . 

But just like a flat inevitably follows a forgotten spare tube and patch kit, so Ash Wednesday must follow on the heels of Mardi Gras. 

So I hope you’ve gotten the partying out of your system at least for a day or two, and have a good Ash Wednesday if you’re so inclined.

Personally, I’m giving up flipping off dangerous drivers for Lent. 

I give it about three or four days. 

………

About damn time.

CalMatters continues their exceptional series on the ongoing epidemic of traffic violence in California with reporting on a slate of new bills in the state legislature that would finally get tough on drunk, stoned and killer drivers.

I’ll let them fill in the details, but these are the topline highlights.

  • Make vehicular manslaughter a violent felony and increase DUI penalties (SB 907)
  • Close the DMV point loophole for drivers who get diversion after a deadly crash (AB 1662)
  • Ensure deadly drivers don’t get their licenses back as soon as they get out of prison (TBD)
  • Increase DMV points for fatal crashes (AB 1685)
  • Allow prosecutors to charge DUIs as a felony on second offense (AB 1686)
  • Allow prosecutors to charge DUIs as a felony after third offense, increase repeat DUI penalties (AB 1546)
  • Revoke the licenses of repeat DUI offenders for longer (AB 1687)
  • Bar people convicted of serious or repeat DUIs from purchasing alcohol (AB 1605)
  • Mandate in-car breathalyzers for all DUI offenders (AB 1830)
  • Expand law enforcement DUI training (AB 1814)

Now if they’d just do the same thing for hit-and-run drivers.

………

No shit.

The Marin County Bicycle Coalition has a few questions after a 75-year old man was killed riding his bicycle on a “complete” section of the county’s SMART Pathway.

Like why wasn’t the driver charged for running the victim down from behind with a massive SUV, when only some form of carelessness or distract could reasonably explain why the driver couldn’t avoid someone on a bicycle directly in front of him.

It should have at least been a prima facie violation of the state’s three-foot passing law, since the driver trier to go through rather than around him

Then there’s the obvious question of why this section of the pathway is considered complete, when it’s just nine miles of narrow country road with no bike infrastructure or paved shoulder of any kind.

As in zero.

Never mind on a two lane farm road with a 55 mph speed limit.

It’s worth giving the full piece a read, because they raise a lot of the same problems we face down here, despite the more rural setting.

Like how the hell people are supposed to stay active as they age, when doing it puts them in the crosshairs of dangerous drivers.

………

I want to share a press release I received yesterday promoting a crowdfunding campaign to help pay funeral expenses for Lori Ann Carreon.

The beloved 54-year old occupational therapist was killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver while riding her bike just a block from her Long Beach home earlier this month.

The driver turned himself in four days later.

GOFUNDME CREATED FOR LONG BEACH CYCLIST KILLED BY HIT-AND-RUN-DRIVER

Long Beach, CA – Friends and family of Lori Ann Carreon, the bicyclist killed by a hit-and-run driver on Saturday, February 7th, have set up a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral and memorial expenses.

Carreon was killed while riding her bike just blocks from her apartment in the Bluff Park neighborhood of Long Beach. Carreon, a long-time Long Beach resident and occupational therapist, was a beloved member of the community.

She was hit by a driver going in excess of 60 miles an hour on Second Street while crossing the intersection of Redondo Avenue and East Second Street. The driver fled the scene and turned himself in to the police on February 11th.

The intersection of Redondo Avenue and East Second Street has been the scene of numerous accidents over the years, and residents have urged Councilmember Cindy Allen and Mayor Rex Richardson to take action to make it safer, either by adding speed bumps or a traffic light, but their pleas have so far been ignored.

Long Beach Police have increased patrols at the intersection following the accident and have issued dozens of tickets, underscoring the need for more substantive efforts.

People interested in making a donation can go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/honoring-lori-ann-carreon-beautiful-life-and-legacy.

As of this writing, the page has raised $17,500 of the $25,000 goal.

………

This weekend marks the return of Chinatown’s Annual Firecracker run, walk, bike, whatever, for the 48th year.

Below, the sponsors offer a schedule of the busy two day event, or rather, a series of events, including bike rides up to a half century, along with how to register and get more information.

WHEN:
February 28-March 1, 2026

  • Sat, Feb 28: 50-mile Bike Ride; 8 a.m. – via Chinatown, LA River Bike Trail, Griffith Park, Burbank, Glendale, Tujunga, La Crescenta, Montrose, La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, Alta Dena, South Pasadena, El Sereno and Lincoln Heights
    • Sat, Feb 28: 20-mile Bike Ride; 8:15 a.m. – via Chinatown, LA River Bike Trail, Griffith Park
    • Sat, Feb 28: 2K PAW’er Dog Walk; 9 a.m.
    • Sat, Feb 28: 3rd Annual Lantern Paw Festival; Blossom Plaza, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; A dog-centered Lunar New Year Celebration from https://www.instagram.com/pawsitivemgmt
    • Sat, Feb 28: Free Festival until 4 p.m.
    • Sun, March 1: 5K Run/Walk; 8:00 a.m.
    • Sun, March 1: 10K Run/Walk; 8:40 a.m.
    • Sun, March 1: 1K Kiddie Run: 9:45 a.m.; includes Kiddie Fun Zone (Carnival Games, Airbrush Tattoos, Pony Rides, Arts & Crafts, Rock Climbing Wall, Activities with the LA Zoo and LA Public Library, Freebies and Giveaways, and much more)
    • Sun, March 1: Free Festival until 1 p.m.

WHERE:
Los Angeles Chinatown Central Plaza
943 N Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles 90012

RUN/WALK, KIDDIE RUN, PAW’er DOG WALK & BIKE RIDE REGISTRATIONS:  $35 – $75

HOW TO REGISTER AND MORE INFORMATION:
• Firecracker L.A. Website: https://firecracker10k.org/
• Registration: https://runsignup.com/Race/CA/LosAngeles/LAChinatownFirecracker
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefirecracker10k
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firecracker10k/
• Twitter: https://x.com/firecracker10k
• Email: info@firecracker10k.org or Call 818-925-8434
• #firecrackerLA; #48years
• L.A. Chinatown Firecracker Trailer/Broll: Chinatown Firecracker 2025 3 minute 06.mov; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXnjkQtweFc

………

Be careful riding river pathways in this weather, for obvious reasons.

Ballona Creek bike path this afternoon. Impassable. Stay out. #StreetPhotography #SawtelleBlvd #BallonaCreekBikePath

— Ted Faber (@snorerot13.bsky.social) 2026-02-17T02:38:50.242Z

………

Joe Linton’s lawsuit over Metro’s failure to implement Measure HLA on the Vermont corridor is kinda headed to court today.

My lawsuit against LACity over #MeasureHLA will be in court next week: Wed Feb 18. But it won't be the big part of my case. There are 3 things I am contesting. Next week is a smaller wonky administrative chunk: asking the judge to nix the city's HLA ordinance. labikas.wordpress.com/2025/10/22/m…

— Joe Linton (@lintonjoe.bsky.social) 2026-02-14T17:46:51.870Z

………

Los Angeles is shamefully giving back millions in hard-won California Active Transportation Program funding, because city budget cutbacks mean we don’t have enough staffing to implement the projects.

And that’s because Mayor Bass and the city council approved massive, unfunded pay increases for police and other city workers.

The City of LA is about to give back millions of dollars of previously won money for active transportation projects because it can’t build things in any reasonable amount of time.

— Streets For All (@streetsforall.org) 2026-02-14T18:21:01.126Z

………

Apparently, LADOT is making up for their lack of staffing by conducting an endless series of surveys, including this one on improvements to Marmion Way.

………

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

This is a perfect example of dangerously impatient driver behavior. On the other hand, this wouldn’t have been a problem if the bicyclists had stuck to a single lane, leaving room to pass safely.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton updates LA’s bizarre new policy of conducting “Large Asphalt Repairs” instead of resurfacing streets, which amounts to almost the same thing, without triggering Americans With Disabilities Act and Measure HLA requirements.

A Culver City paper is concerned that a proposal to divert funds that voters approved to fix deteriorating school facilities will be used to “force a connection in between through our quiet residential neighborhood.” Never mind that the purpose is to provide a safe alternative to the usual parent drop-off so kids can walk or bike to school. But what’s the safety of a few kids compared to keeping the riffraff and rugrats out of the ‘hood?

South Pasadena wants your input on improvements to the Huntington Drive and Fremont Avenue Corridor, including the possibility of new bikeways.

Baldwin Park has officially opened the 2.3-mile Baldwin Park Greenway, which is slated to expand to five miles in the coming years, allowing people to bypass the area’s busiest streets.

 

State

A Silicon Valley organization changes lives by rebuilding bicycles that are then donated to local charities to distribute to people in need.

 

National

The Velo podcast considers, among other things, the controversial ethics of hi-viz, and getting stalked by Bigfoot while riding through the woods.

No surprise here. The police chief of Greeley, Colorado, crashed into a 15-year old boy on a bicycle while driving his personal SUV, and the cops immediately blamed the kid on the bike for riding out in front of him. Which is entirely possible. But it’s a little strange that the cops never seem to be responsible for a crash, when even they will tell you they’re the worst drivers on the road.

Chicago Streetsblog accuses a candidate for alderman, aka councilmember, of being a Trump-aligned NIMBY who wants to rip out “obstructive bike lanes,” even though the traffic congestion is actually caused by utility construction.

A proposal in the New York State legislature would allow residents to set aside pre-tax funds for transportation, including transit and bike share.

 

International

London bike thieves stole around 40,000 bicycles last year, while the cops recovered a lousy 2%, or about 800 bikes.

After a British writer wrecks a high-end wheel hitting a massive pothole, he’s just happy it wasn’t worse.

Yesterday we mentioned that a man was killed in the UK when he allegedly fell off his ebike and crashed into a stopped police van when the cops attempted a traffic stop; now it turns out he was restrained by the cops as he lay dying — and bizarrely, had a “package” in his mouth that was removed by paramedics at the scene.

Cycling Weekly details a stunning handbuilt Italian Simoncini bicycle frame, saying it epitomizes the aero thinking of the 1980s.

A Finnish couple spent 20 months riding 13,000 miles from Finland to Singapore, passing through a mere 24 countries on a DIY tandem.

Only 30 or so people turned out in Seoul, South Korea, for a chilly Critical Mass, just the 14th in the city. Although it takes courage just to ride on Seoul’s crowded streets.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Visma‑Lease a Bike cycling team is looking for a new title sponsor, even though both firms remain firmly on board, as the costs of remaining competitive on the WorldTour continue to climb.

Mexican wunderkind Isaac del Toro continued his winning ways from his rookie season, winning stage 1 of the UAE Tour in stunning fashion.

The iconic Paris-Roubaix is now officially changing its name to the somewhat more cumbersome Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France, a moniker assured to be used by virtually no one who’s not required to.

 

Finally…

Nothing like putting a planter or two in the middle of a bike lane. And your next really expensive bike frame could be a rolling canvas.

But only if you put wheels and stuff on it.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

Alleged Long Beach hit-and-run driver turns himself in 4 days later, and intense bicycling may reverse cancer cells

February 12, 2026 / / No comments

Nothing like giving yourself several days to sober up before turning yourself in for a fatal hit-and-run.

Or maybe just to come up with a good excuse.

Or a good lawyer.

Forty-year old Los Angeles resident Christopher Bryant turned himself in to the Long Beach police yesterday, admitting that he was the alleged speeding driver who ran a stop sign and plowed into the bicycle ridden by 54-year-old Lori Ann Carreon.

Bryant hit Carreon so hard that she reportedly flew 60 feet through the air before smashing into the windshield of a parked car.

He was booked on $50,000 bond on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, hit-and-run involving death and reckless driving.

If there was any justice, he would be charged with murder for making the conscious decision to leave Carreon to die in the street while he sped away.

Although if past is prologue, the DA’s office probably just bargain this down to reckless driving, and send Bryant on his way with a few months in jail and a slap on the back.

Let’s just hope prosecutors can at least trace his actions prior to the crash to determine if he was under the influence, or if some other factor caused him to flee.

Photo by Artyom Kulakov from Pexels.

………

Evidently, riding a bike really is good for you.

A new British study shows that just a ten-minute burst of intensive exercise, like bicycling, can not only slow the growth of bowel cancer, but actually reverse cancer cell growth.

And it also lowers the risk of developing intestinal cancer by an estimated 20 percent.

There’s no mention of whether it has the same effect on other forms of cancer. But researchers intend to look into how exercise would interact with more traditional forms of cancer treatment like chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

……….

If you need a good laugh, Road.cc has collected the most hilarious anti-bike headlines from the very anti-bike Daily News, which isn’t exactly a fan of anyone on two wheels.

………

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

Nailed it. Cycling Weekly examines New Jersey and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad e-bike law.

A letter writer in the London Telegraph not only calls for registering and licensing bike riders, but turning everyone with a cellphone into vigilantes to report scofflaw behavior. Because apparently, we’re so much more dangerous than the people in cars.

………

Local 

Forty-five year old tree killer Samuel Patrick Groft got a well deserved two years behind bars for riding around DTLA on his bicycle and chopping down 13 trees with a chainsaw last April.

LA County is offering a $20,000 reward in the fatal shooting of a 32-year old Bell man; Jose Manuel Rangel was killed as he was riding his bike back home after visiting his mother on Mother’s Day in 2023.

 

State

California will start requiring Waymo to report all crashes to the DMV, which is currently allowed to just keep those things to themself, even though the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration, aka NHTSA, requires reporting every incident — like the dooring that injured a San Francisco bike rider, or the crash that killed a popular Bay Area cat.

Oceanside police found a 52-year old man lying next to his ebike in the roadway near Coast Highway and Seagaze Drive shortly after midnight yesterday, suffering from critical injuries to his head and upper body; it wasn’t clear if he crashed on his own, or was the victim of a hit-and-run.

San Diego received a $6.9 million grant from the San Diego Association of Governments, aka SANDAG, including $3.5 million for the Chollas Creek to Bayshore Bikeway project.

San Bernardino County will open a new 3.8-mile segment of the Santa Ana River Trail at noon today.

The annual Tour of Paso ride returns to the Paso Robles wine country March 22nd.

The San Luis Obispo city council will consider final approval of the Higuera Complete Streets Project, a key part of the city’s Active Transportation Plan, on Tuesday evening.

A San Jose man walked away from a career with tech startups in his 40s to open a bike shop; now he offers free bicycles and repairs for homeless people, saying he’s “seen magical, magical things happen” with a bicycle for someone in need.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Sacramento is fast-tracking a road diet and new buffered bike lanes on a street where four people have been killed in just the last two years.

The Sacramento Bee says yes, you can get a DUI for riding a bicycle, e-scooter or even a golf cart while under the influence.

 

National

Field Magazine reports your favorite bicycle brand may be pivoting to running, because that’s where the money is these days. Or maybe it’s just because the bike industry is in deep trouble these days.

If you live in Portland, this 52-year old man has ridden his bike down your street, as well as every other street in the city.

Denver is expecting around 5,000 people to turn out for the city’s Winter Bike to Work Day on Friday. Los Angeles is expecting somewhere around zero, because we don’t celebrate Winter Bike to Work Day, for reasons.

Yesterday we mentioned that two sixteen-year old Texas boys were struck by drivers while riding with a companion in cities 45 miles apart; today we learned that the boy who died was riding with his 10-year old sister, who remains hospitalized. The other boy remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

A Texas man was sentenced to 15 years behind bars after his dogs attacked and killed a 46-year old man who had the misfortune of riding his bike past the man’s property; animal control had picked up dogs from his property 18 times prior to the attack, and he was banned from adopting dogs from the local animal shelter.

Brujula Bike traces the rise of Trek from a Wisconsin barn to an international bicycle powerhouse.

Philadelphia will post No Stopping signs along the city’s bike lanes after receiving a $1 million state grant, but Philadelphia Magazine just wants to know when the city will clear the damn snow out of them.

Baltimore bicyclists are begging for bike lanes on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which represents a massive critical gap in the region’s bicycle network.

 

International

Road.cc rates the best hardtail mountain bikes you can get for the equivalent of around $950, while Off-Road.cc considers the best upgrades for your new mountain or gravel bike.

NPR reports on the weekly Sunday ciclovia on Mexico City’s Paseo de la Reforma, describing it as the most important street in Mexico, where a dog riding in a bike basket steals the show in his bike helmet and goggles.

Bicycling injuries are reaching an all-time high in London, with rental ebikes accounting for a fifth of serious injuries. Which sounds really bad, until you consider that one-fifth of 1,200 is just 240.

This is why people keep dying on the streets. An “otherwise decent” road-raging driver in the UK walked without a day behind bars for deliberately ramming a bike-riding man off the road.

 

Competitive Cycling

Earlier this week, we mentioned a Phoenix, Arizona man who killed a woman riding a bicycle when he allegedly fell asleep behind the wheel, claiming he would trade his life for hers if he could. Today we learned the victim was 26-year old Canadian triathlete Hannah Henry, the 2017 and 2018 US national collegiate triathlon champ, who started competing when she was just nine years old.

California mountain biker Kyle Strait would like whoever stole his custom 2024 Red Bull Rampage Ari to return it. Now.

To the surprise of no one, the track cycling events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be held at the VELO Sports Center in Carson. Because seriously, where else would they hold it? 

Finally…

Happy 147th birthday to the country’s first bike club. That feeling when you’ve got an e-cargo bike, a snow plow and a craving for Vietnamese food.

And if you’re going to ride your ebike while drunk, try not to fall off in front of sheriff’s deputies.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

27-year old bike rider killed early Friday in Colton hit-and-run; 13th SoCal bike death in last 30 days

February 9, 2026 / / No comments

It’s happened yet again.

For the 13th time in 30 days, someone riding a bicycle has been killed in Southern California. And once again, the victim was murdered by a hit-and-run driver.

This time in Colton.

According to KTLA-5, which has the most detailed report, the victim was struck while riding at Riverside Ave and Key Street around 4 am Friday.

The victim, identified as 27-year old Colton resident Sinahi Moises Garcia, was pronounced dead at the scene. It’s not clear if Garcia was a man or a woman, though Sinahi is usually a feminine name.

There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or whether Garcia had lights on their bike in the predawn hour. Then again, we have no way of knowing if the driver was using their lights, either.

There’s also no information on where Garcia and the driver were positioned on the three-way intersection, which is controlled only by a stop sign on Key. There appears to be a bike lane on Riverside, which has the kind of wide, straight traffic lanes that encourage speeding, particularly at that hour.

Police do not appear to have a description of the suspect or their vehicle, or which way they fled.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Colton Police Officer A. Jacobson at 909/370-5000, or ajacobson@coltonca.gov. Anonymous tips can be submitted to We-Tip at 1-800/782-7463, or via wetip.com.

This the 13th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and it appears to be the first in San Bernardino County,

Four of the SoCal deaths involved hit-and-run drivers..

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Sinahi Moises Garcia and their loved ones.

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

Bike rider in his 40s killed by hit-and-run driver in Boyle Heights Thursday morning; 7th SoCal bike death this month

January 29, 2026 / / No comments

Once again, someone riding a bicycle has been murdered by a hit-and-run driver.

And as usual, we know almost nothing about the crash.

Sources are reporting that the victim was struck while crossing the street at 7th Street and Boyle Ave in Boyle Heights around 5:20 this morning.

The victim, publicly identified only as a man in his 40s, died at the scene, after the driver left him to die alone in the street.

There’s no other information on how the crash occurred, including which street the victim was crossing. Given the circumstances, unless police find a witness or security cam video, that may be all we ever know.

There’s also no information about the driver or suspect vehicle at this time.

A street view shows the intersection is controlled by a traffic signal with crosswalks in each direction, though there doesn’t appear to be any bike infrastructure on either street.

There’s a posted 25 mph speed limit on 7th, while Google AI reports a 35 mph speed limit on Boyle. Although at that hour, it’s likely the driver was exceeding whatever the posted limit is.

Anyone with information is urged to contact LAPD’s Central Traffic Division.

This is the seventh bicycling fatality that I’m aware in of Southern California already this year, and the third in Los Angeles County; it’s also the first reported in the City of Los Angeles.

Hit-and-run drivers have been responsible for two of those SoCal deaths this year. Nineteen of the of the 55 reported bicycling deaths last year involved hit-and-run drivers.

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

Thanks to Danny for the heads-up. 

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

Bike lanes could be coming to Los Feliz, CicLAvia comes off life-support, and hit-and-run driver murders Holocaust survivor

January 29, 2026 / / No comments

Bike lanes could be coming to Los Feliz Blvd.

But only if they can figure out how to build them without a) removing a traffic lane, and b) adversely affecting Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Number 67.

Or as most of us know them, the majestic evergreen cedars lining either side of the busy boulevard, which have been designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument since 1970.

CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman, who somehow represents the area in a bizarrely gerrymandered district, got the city council to approve $400,000 for a feasibility and design study to install a cycle track between Fern Dell Drive and Vermont Ave.

A safe bikeway along the corridor would provide a huge benefit, as there is currently no safe way to get from Hollywood to the LA River or the zoo, without climbing extremely steep hills.

Or to Costco, for that matter.

………

It looks like CicLAvia may be off life support.

According to the San Fernando Valley Sun, Metro voted last year to approve funding for open streets events tied to the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, putting traditional open streets events at risk.

However, after outrage from the community, Metro agreed to fund 70% of the cost for nine additional open streets applications, while requiring host cities to provide the other 30% matching funding.

Which is exactly what the Los Angeles City Council did yesterday, voting 12-2 to approve $3.2 million for open streets.

CD3 Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and CD7’s Monica Rodriguez opposed the measure because only one of the events is planned for the San Fernando Valley.

CD9 Councilmember Curren Price, Jr. was absent.

Probably because he’s just the latest in what’s becoming a long list of allegedly corrupt councilmembers, facing trial for embezzlement, perjury, and conflict of interest benefitting his wife and her consulting company.

………

This is who we share the road with.

The LAPD is looking for the hit-and-run driver who killed an 80-year old Holocaust survivor and his dog as they were walking in the bike lane on Woodman Ave in Sherman Oaks on Tuesday night.

Police located the car, a silver Maserati Quattroporte, abandoned nearby at Mammoth Ave and Milbank Street.

There were no license plates on the murder weapon.

………

My bad.

I neglected to consider yesterday that not everyone has Instagram. Which I should have, considering I only have it to share corgi photos and witticisms.

Well, I think they’re funny, even if the dog doesn’t share my sense of humor. Or my wife, for that matter.

Fortunately, Randy corrected my mistake yesterday, posting details of the West LA Unity Ride, while noting rental bikes will we available.

https://bsky.app/profile/randycoppinger.bsky.social/post/3mditgzlzts2u

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:l3c3zg3aljdbctelkytee3wo/post/3mditnnt4cc2u

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton notes Unity Rides will be taking place throughout California this Friday and Saturday, including additional rides in the LA area:

Los Angeles: Organized by Allez L.A. Bike Shop, 5227 York Blvd. Meet This Friday at 7:30 a.m., 8 a.m. roll-out.

Los Angeles: Organized by Organized by Domestique Cycling Club, Westwood VA Medical Center parking – just off Dowlen Drive, west of Sawtelle Blvd. [Strava route map]

Although it would be more effective if all the rides could meet up somewhere for a rally that would really get attention.

You’ll find information on the Westwood ride below, assuming the Instagram post stays embedded this time.

A ride will also take place in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Pretti grew up; Bikepacking has mapped rides ranging from the US and Europe to Australia.

Meanwhile, Salsa Cycles explained why they felt compelled to speak out, even as commenters demanded we should keep politics out of bicycling, with the company saying they’re proud to call Minnesota home.

But clearly, not everyone agrees with them.

………

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

You know your new bike lane sucks when riders are reporting broken bones and kidney damage, like this one in Brighton & Hove, England; the city is defending itself by arguing that they’re all turning in the wrong place.

A British man was convicted of assault for punching a bike rider who had stopped to relieve himself in the woods along a bike path, accusing the victim of being a “pervert,” and touching his genitals in front of him. Which is generally what one does when one stops to take a leak; a better question might be why was he looking? 

The capital of Estonia is busy moving bike riders to side streets, because apparently only drivers belong on main thoroughfares, and bike riders don’t really need to get anywhere, anyway.

………

Local 

An op-ed in the Los Angeles Times says the county has set a goal of ripping up 1,600 acres of pavement and replacing them with green space and trees, but questions if it’s too little, too late. Probably. Because we all know how “goals” tend to work out around here. 

Bike lanes on Fairfax Ave now have a new coat of Kermit, in a special shade or green specifically designed not to piss off Hollywood filmmakers. Although that’s still probably not enough to keep drivers from using them as traffic bypass lanes. 

 

State

The Laguna Beach Police Department will hold a free e-bike training course this Saturday, including certification to ride an ebike to local schools.

The attorney representing the family of 6-year old Hudson O’Loughlin is looking for deeper pockets than the woman accused of killing the boy as he rode his bike with his family in Pacific Beach; the suspect has been without a valid driver’s license for nine years, which means she probably doesn’t have insurance.

 

National

Amazon is recruiting ebike delivery riders who own their own bikes without any illegal modifications and with their own liability insurance; the company has also begun investing in their own ebike cargo vans for urban deliveries.

Seriously? A nonprofit bike park in Idaho continues to battle with county officials, who have denied it a permit to even build bathrooms, in a dispute that boils down to whether it should be classified as a ‘park’ or a ‘recreational facility.’

A 62-year old motorcycle rider faces a vehicular homicide charge for killing a 68-year old man riding a bicycle just a few miles from my Colorado hometown following a nine-month investigation; he’s accused of failing to negotiate a lefthand curve after passing another motorcycle, striking the victim on the far right shoulder, apparently head-on. Which makes it sound like the investigation should have taken about ten minutes.

Texas authorities warn parents that their kids could be riding an illegal electric motorcycle in the form of an ebike, while Gulf Shores, Alabama joined the parade of coastal cities cracking down on ebikes.

 

International

How to convert an old, unloved mountain bike to a modern gravel bike for the equivalent of less than $1,400.

A Brazilian gas company recounts the tale of a man who rode from his home in Bahia to New York in the 1920s, taking two years to travel through 11 countries, including sleeping in a tree after getting stalked by a jaguar, only to return home to find that no one really cared about his feat.

Bicyclists in Toronto appeared in Ontario’s highest provincial appeals court yesterday to defend their successful challenge of the province’s plan to rip out three of the city’s bike lanes, which ended with a ruling that bike riders had a constitutional right to have safe places to ride.

A Toronto film school graduate released his own, self-financed 15-minute romantic drama called The Bicycle Boy, which cost him just $23,000, which you can now watch for the low, low price of just $3.49. Which means he’ll break even if just 6,590 people pay to watch it. 

The British Parliament is considering a bill that would ban kits for illegal ebike conversions.

Horrible story from Ireland, where an inquest heard witnesses say they saw a 14-year old boy riding unsteadily after falling off his bicycle, only to disappear for six days before his body was found in a storm drain.

 

Finally…

That feeling when bike thefts are merely “inconveniencing,” or when it’s never too cold to ride. Who needs an ebike when you can build your very own electric jet bike?

And a reminder how it feels to ride a bicycle for the first time.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

Nationwide Unity Rides Saturday to honor Alex Pretti, and accused hit-and-run killer of 6-year old Hudson O’Loughlin arraigned

January 28, 2026 / / One comment

Alex Pretti was one of us.

The 37-year old Minneapolis VA nurse, who was fatally shot — okay, murdered — by ICE agents on Saturday was a lover of the outdoors, and an active mountain bike rider.

Which is just one reason the bike community is rallying behind him.

Minneapolis’ Angry Catfish bike shop, which claimed Pretti as a frequent customer, is helping to organize memorial Unity Rides rides across the country for this Saturday, starting with Minneapolis.

The Radavist is calling for the entire bicycling community to come together for healing and to honor Pretti, who he says could have been any of us. Although I’m not sure how many of us would have stepped up to help a stranger at the risk of our own lives.

Meanwhile, Minnesota-based Salsa Cycles is urging bike riders to contact their legislator and join in a Unity Ride to protest the recent fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

According to Cycling Weekly,

“Our neighbors are being unlawfully detained, harassed and murdered at the hands of the federal immigration enforcement agents,” Salsa Cycles wrote in its statement. “Now is the time to speak up and stand up…”

“Community is important in times like this,” Salsa Cycles states. “Alex Pretti was a member of our local cycling community…We encourage you to come ride with us, host a ride in your community, or simply go ride in solidarity on Saturday.”

Bike Portland reports other rides have been announced for Portland, Oregon, Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia; Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, Texas; Bellingham, Washington; San Francisco, California; Wichita, Kansas; and Memphis, Tennessee.

West LA Bicycle will host a Unity Ride here in Los Angeles (click here in case the Instagram link below doesn’t embed properly).

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUCoEbDjDuR

Anyone interested in organizing a ride can contact Community@angrycatfishbicycle.com for more information.

Let me know if there are any other rides planned for Los Angeles or Southern California.

I honestly don’t care what your politics are.

No one should be killed for legally, and peacefully, exercising their 1st and 2nd Amendment rights.

………

Ten years hardly seems like enough.

Thirty-two-year old Tiffany Sanchez was formally indicted Tuesday on felony charges of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run for killing six-year old Hudson O’Loughlin as he rode his bike with his family on a Pacific Beach sidewalk January 18th.

The former carries a maximum of six years, while the latter has a max of just four years, thanks to California’s lax hit-and-run laws.

And that’s only if she is convicted on both charges, and gets the maximum penalties, to run concurrently.

Anyone want to give odds on that?

Sanchez is accused of knocking Hudson off his bike as she turned right into an alley, stopping briefly, then fleeing the scene and driving over the boy as he lay helpless on the ground.

According to 10 News San Diego,

“The defendant did not stop, she did not render aid, she did not assess the situation or try to help out, she didn’t, she did not call 911,” said Cassidy McWilliams, deputy district attorney.

Never mind that she hasn’t had a valid driver’s license for nine years, and shouldn’t have been on the road in the first place.

She was ordered into custody on $150,000 bond, and will be required to wear an ankle monitor and forbidden from driving if she manages to post it.

………

A new map from the San Francisco Chronicle shows the most dangerous streets and neighborhoods for bicyclists and pedestrians, based on traffic deaths from 2020-2024, as reported by law enforcement agencies to the Transportation Injury Mapping System at UC Berkeley.

According to the paper,

This analysis includes people walking, biking, using wheelchairs or riding personal conveyances such as rollerblades or skateboards. In total, nearly 6,500 people were killed while walking or biking across California during this five-year period, a toll that includes about 800 cyclists.

Fatalities climbed steadily for nearly a decade across the state, reaching a peak of 1,429 deaths in 2022, before receding to 1,208 in 2024. In comparison, the Bay Area has remained relatively stable. The number of fatalities has ranged between 150-180 deaths per year.

The map pinpoints the location of both pedestrian and bicycling deaths, while blocking out high-fatality hotspots.

The latter of which makes Los Angeles look like the hot mess it is.

………

Active SGV is hosting a free Learn to Bike class in El Monte on Sunday.

The group is also hosting an easy ride to Whittier Narrows next weekend.

………

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

A New Jersey legislator is “backpedaling” on his own proposal to require a $50 annual bicycle registration fee to make bike riders contribute to the cost of their own infrastructure, with public comments running 61% against. Because apparently, people who ride bikes don’t pay taxes like normal folks, and the proven societal and health effects of bicycling are worth nothing. And no, drivers don’t pay their own way; the overwhelming cost of building and maintaining roadways comes from general tax funds.

The simple act of bicycling without a helmet or hi-viz clothing could soon become a criminal offense in Ireland if a new government proposal is enacted; the president of an Irish bicycling organization calls it “performative policymaking,” arguing “there is no credible evidence” that it would significantly reduce collisions or fatalities. Meanwhile, an English author and columnist writing for the Irish Times says that “Anyone who thinks cyclists ‘come out of nowhere’ should not be in control of a vehicle.”

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

Carpenteria is becoming the latest coastal California city to crack down on ebikes without distinguishing ped-assist bikes from the electric motorbikes and illegal ebikes causing the problems, although they are capping ebike speeds at 28 mph, mirroring state law.

………

Local 

Metro will mark the birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks next Wednesday, aka Transit Equity Day, with free rides throughout the system, including Metro Bike; the agency is also conducting a survey to better understand the needs of neurodivergent riders.

UCLA is now requiring that every ebike and e-scooter kept on campus be UL-certified and registered with the school transportation department.

A Canyon Country bike rider was hospitalized with minor injuries as a result of a hit-and-run crash with a truck driver leaving a movie set. Which means the driver shouldn’t be too hard to find. 

He gets it. A personal trainer from Signal Hill says Long Beach residents don’t need another fitness trend, because all they have to do is go outside to enjoy one of the city’s most effective health resources, including the beachfront bike path.

 

State

Once again, a bike thief has been busted in Orange County, after stealing a bait bike worth over $2,000 in Huntington Beach, which makes it a felony. Meanwhile, the LAPD still won’t employ bait bikes because a former city attorney feared it could be construed as entrapment, even though similar charges have held up in other cities that do.

Laguna Beach city leaders are debating potential locations and designs for a pump track, though they haven’t made a commitment to building one yet.

A 71-year old man was critically injured when he was struck by a pickup driver in Indio Tuesday morning and knocked under the truck, suffering “significant” injuries; shockingly, the driver was unharmed. And yes, that’s sarcasm. 

Congratulations to San Jose, where traffic deaths dropped for the second straight year, declining ten percent from 2024 to the lowest level since 2012.

Bike-friendly Davis has released a new citywide bike map. Granted, it’s easier to build a connected bike network in a small city, but at least Davis has one. Los Angeles doesn’t. 

Sad news from Lodi, where a 78-year old retired physician was killed by a driver while riding his bicycle in Amador County, southeast of Sacramento; he was called The Lone Rider by his bike club because he rode so much after his retirement 23 years ago.

 

National

Gadget Review ranks the fifteen best bikes from last year. Some of which actually are. 

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The assets of bankrupt Seattle ebikemaker Rad Power Bikes were auctioned off in a fire sale for $13.2 million, following its recent Orange County warehouse fire — a 99.2% drop from its high valuation of $1.65 billion.

Once again, someone riding a bicycle has been collateral damage in a police chase, when a bike rider was killed by a speeding driver fleeing from the cops in Tucson, Arizona, who also crashed into a pedestrian before being shot by state troopers; the driver was hospitalized, while the pedestrian suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Winter bicycling rates are skyrocketing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, increasing over 400% in the past ten years, thanks in part to the city plowing snow from bike lanes.

South Carolina authorities are searching for a 15-year old boy who disappeared under “unusual” circumstances after leaving his grandfather’s house for a bike ride a week ago, and hasn’t been seen since.

 

International

A writer for Cycling Weekly says like it or not, of course there are barriers to bicycling for female riders, from the cost of an entry level bike to products designed for male riders, and threatening behavior from other road users.

A new Canadian study shows that nearly 3,600 kilometers — roughly 2,200 miles — of high-quality bicycling infrastructure was added across the country, but the increase largely bypassed areas with more children and older adults, which could benefit most from it.

The London Times asks if 2025 was the year London became a bicycling city, as even Timothée Chalamet embraced the city’s ubiquitous Lime bikes.

British Transport Police have reversed their recent announcement that they wouldn’t investigate the theft of bicycles left at train stations for more than two hours.

A British man completed a six-month, 14,000-mile trip from Melbourne to Melbourne, the former in the UK and the latter in Australia.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a man’s wallet when he fell from his bike after leaving a nightclub in Turin, Italy, and was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver while he was on the ground.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two-time Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard was lucky to escape serious injury when he crashed on a training ride, after he tried to drop an amateur cyclist who repeatedly tailed him and wouldn’t back off; amateur Pedro García Fernández posted video to Strava showing him riding on Vingegaard’s wheel, saying he couldn’t understand the pro’s anger at being followed by a fan. It used to piss me off when some stranger drafted off me, and I’m not even famous.

Chinese bikes have made it to the WorldTour, with the Quick Pro brand signing a new sponsorship agreement with the Euskaltel-Euskadi cycling team, after more than 30 years using Orbea bikes.

Ouch. Aussie Jay Vine finished the Tour Down Under riding with a broken wrist after getting caught up in the infamous kangaroo crash.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you give five grand from your insurance settlement to the driver who knocked you off your bike because the crash cured your back pain. We may have to deal with rabid LA drivers, but at least we hardly ever run into potentially rabid baby bats. Who needs a bike seat when you’re Ryan Seacrest?

And honestly, who wouldn’t want their very own lobster bike?

Ok, who has $200?seattle.craigslist.org/see/gms/d/se…

— Cold vermin winter of our discontent (@sciencehippies.bsky.social) 2026-01-24T20:52:56.370Z

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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