Tag Archive for hit-and-run

Romero guilty of murder in Huntington Beach DUI bike death, and wrong-way driver injures 25 LA sheriff’s cadets

November 17, 2022 / / Comments Off on Romero guilty of murder in Huntington Beach DUI bike death, and wrong-way driver injures 25 LA sheriff’s cadets

Guilty.

An Orange County jury convicted 28-year old Victor Manuel Romero of second-degree murder and hit-and-run in the 2019 death of Raymond MacDonald as he rode his bike in Huntington Beach.

Romero faced the murder charge after signing a Watson notice following a 2012 conviction for DUI, specifying that he could be charged with the crime if he killed someone while under the influence anytime in the future.

And he did.

Romero started the deadly chain of events by crashing into a bar owner’s car as he left a parking lot, before smashing into MacDonald’s bike and speeding off without slowing down, then fleeing on foot after finally crashing his car into a tree.

He had been drinking at a pair of Huntington Beach bars, and got into a fight with someone in the parking garage next door, which his lawyer bizarrely argued meant Romero was not responsible for his actions after suffering a brain injury.

Fortunately, the jury didn’t buy it.

He now faces 15 to life when he is sentenced in February.

Adding to the tragedy, MacDonald had just finished celebrating his 33rd birthday, and was towing a bike trailer loaded with gifts across the street when Romero ran him down.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.

………

This is who we share the road with.

A wrong-way SUV driver plowed into a group of LA County Sheriff’s cadets on a Whittier training run Wednesday morning, injuring 25 recruits — five critically.

One of the five is on a ventilator, while others suffered life-changing injuries, including lost limbs.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who lost his run for re-election this week, describe the scene as looking like an airplane crash, with “bodies scattered everywhere.”

And in case anyone still thinks hi-viz is the key to bike and pedestrian safety, all 75 recruits on the run were wearing reflective vests, in addition to running in four columns accompanied by two black-and-white patrol vehicles and eight road guards.

Yet the driver still smashed into them at an estimated 30 – 40 mph. Not only did the 22-year old driver fail to slow down, there are reports that he continued accelerating as he sliced through the cadets — which could suggest this was something other than just another “oopsie.”

Reports varied on whether driver appeared to be under the influence after the crash, though cannabis was found in his vehicle.

He was taken into custody by the cadets, and was transported to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.

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No surprise here, unfortunately.

A year after acquiring Cycling Tips, Pink Bike and Trailforks, Outside has reportedly laid-off 12 percent of the workforce, with a focus on writing and editorial workers, including at sister publication VeloNews.

Needless to say, it was not well received by readers of the sites.

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Nice to see LA marking Sunday’s World Day of Remembrance for victims of traffic violence.

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Georgia senatorial candidate Hershel Walker somehow derided his opponent, incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock, for “letting” President Joe Biden ride his bike.

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

A Brooklyn councilmember is demanding answers from the local police precinct commander, saying it’s deeply disturbing that a noted bike lawyer was hauled off in handcuffs for attempting to remove a piece of plastic illegally obscuring a driver’s license plate.

A Hoboken city councilmember called for more bike lanes, days after he was hit by a driver who yelled at him to use the bike lane before crashing into him; the driver in question says it was just an “oopsie,” not road rage.

No bias here. A Conservative Member of the British Parliament says lowering the speed limit in Wales to 20 mph is just a ploy to raise cash while attacking motorists — even if it is almost universally ignored.

https://twitter.com/Jacob_Rees_Mogg/status/1592836096731533314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1592836096731533314%7Ctwgr%5Eac15100cc8bf610c5e36737beadaaa012740ac3b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-16-november-2022-297401

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

A bike-riding British naval commander has been cleared of using racially abusive language in a heated roadside road rage incident with a Black motorist, who alleged the commander called him a “Black cunt,” while the sailor insisted he had merely referred to the driver’s black car.

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Local

In what could be good news for bike riders, CD13 Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell conceded his re-election effort to challenger Hugo Soto-Martinez, who has promised to complete many of the bikeway projects O’Farrell had blocked until recently, along with pedestrianizing parts of Hollywood Blvd.

 

State 

Streetsblog talks with Bike East Bay Advocacy Director Dave Campbell, who is leaving the organization after 26 years of fighting for safer streets in the East San Francisco Bay Area.

Sad news from Modesto, where a man riding a bicycle was killed in a collision Tuesday evening. He must have been the victim of a sentient self-driving car, however, since there’s no mention of a driver anywhere in the article.

 

National

Politico talks with former DC and Chicago DOT director Gabe Klein, who is now tasked with overseeing EV infrastructure for the Biden administration.

Gear Junkie recommends ten gifts for the bicyclist in your life. Even if the only bicyclist in your life is you.

A new study from Oregon State University shows bike boxes really do improve safety at intersections for people on bicycles.

The rich get richer. Just one day after we mentioned the ebike rebate program in Austin, Texas, the city announced it is more than doubling the amount available for rebates, from $600 to $1,300.

Chicago’s mayor was deservedly blasted online after an advocacy group posted video of her guards double-parked in a bike lane for a doughnut run.

‘Tis the season. An Ohio man is preparing for holiday bike giveaways, after spending the year collecting, fixing and donating bikes for kids who need them; he estimates he’s given away nearly double the 3,000 bikes from last year.

A Connecticut driver learns the hard way that it may not be the best idea to flee the scene after severely injuring the bike-riding brother of the state’s lieutenant governor.

New York considers a ban on secondhand and uncertified lithium-ion ebike and e-scooter batteries, which have been blamed for an increasing number of fires.

An 18-year old Virginia man now faces additional charges for the alleged drunken crash that killed one woman and seriously injured another as they were riding together this past August.

South Carolina advocates are calling on the legislature to repeal a ban on red light cameras, as a national study shows the traffic cams reduce fatalities by 20%. Hopefully, a new city council will reconsider LA’s ban on red light cams, too.

An Orlando bike cop was lucky to escape with minor injuries when he was dragged by a fleeing driver following a traffic stop, and was still stuck on the vehicle when the driver crashed into a tree.

 

International

A new report shows it’s still not safe to travel through London if you’re not in a car.

Bicycling deaths are even spiking in bike-friendly Belgium, as fatalities hit a ten-year high for the first nine months of this year.

An Indian man has just 21 countries left in his around-the-world bike tour of 191-countries, which began four bikes and 18 years ago; one of the bikes was purchased by the Polish prime minister, after his previous bicycle was stolen while touring the country.

 

Competitive Cycling

Lachlan Morton, the Aussie cyclist who beat the Tour de France peloton to Paris in his own Alt Tour, has now set his sites on breaking the 78-day record for riding around the world set by Scottish long-distance cyclist Mark Beaumont in 2017.

World handbike champ Mitch Valize is working with a lab in the Netherlands to improve the high-tech materials and design of his handcycle, comparing it to the design of F1 race cars.

 

Finally…

That feeling when science proves ebikes are more efficient and fun than regular bikes. If you’re going to burglarize vehicles, try to hide your wet bike tires from sharp-eyed cops.

And if the prices are too good to be true, you may have been conned by yet another fraudulent SRAM website.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

DA won’t prosecute deputies in Dijon Kizzee shooting, and drunken Huntington Beach hit-and-run death goes to jury

November 16, 2022 / / Comments Off on DA won’t prosecute deputies in Dijon Kizzee shooting, and drunken Huntington Beach hit-and-run death goes to jury

It looks like there won’t be any justice for Dijon Kizzee, after all.

The Los Angeles County DA’s office announced that a pair of sheriff’s deputies won’t be charged for killing 29-year old Dijon Kizzee in South LA in 2020, in what began as a traffic stop for the crime of riding salmon on his lowrider bike.

Kizzee attempted to flee on foot, and was shot 16 times in the front and back as he ran away after picking up a gun he had dropped, suggesting the firing continued long after he was on the ground.

Never mind that Kizzee never pointed the gun at the deputies, or attempted to confront them with it.

His death came during the protests over the killing of George Floyd, which may have contributed to his decision to flee when the deputies tried to stop him.

His family has filed a $35 million claim against the county, which is a required precursor to filing a lawsuit. His family’s attorneys have called it a case of “biking while Black” in the largely Black and Hispanic neighborhood, where riding against traffic is a common response to dangerous streets.

Meanwhile, Knock LA insists there’s no evidence to support crucial details of the deputies stories.

Kizee’s shooting was just one of a number of questionable shootings by LA County sheriff’s deputies, which led to weeks of protests in the local community.

And like the other cases, no action by Los Angeles Count District Attorney George Gascón, who ran on a platform of holding police accountable for their actions.

………

The trial of 28-year old alleged drunk driver Victor Manuel Romero has gone to the jury for a verdict, three years after the hit-and-run crash that killed 33-year-old Raymond MacDonald in Huntington Beach.

Romero was over twice the legal alcohol limit during a series of hit-and-runs, starting with crashing into the car belonging to the bar owner where he’d been drinking, and ending when he fled on foot after slamming his car into a tree.

Sandwiched between was MacDonald’s death as he rode his bike in a crosswalk on Beach Blvd at Adams Ave.

Romero’s public defender had bizarrely claimed that he wasn’t responsible for his actions, blaming a head injury sustained in a fight in the bar parking lot for his actions.

………

People responded to yesterday’s call to turn out to oppose plans to remove bulb outs on Fair Oaks Ave in South Pasadena, would would make the street even more dangerous for anyone not in a motor vehicle.

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Orange County continues to make slow but steady progress on building new bike facilities, including new bike lanes in Buena Park.

https://twitter.com/mikeocbike/status/1592743683195305985

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UC Davis grad student Megan Lynch continues to question why the campus enjoys its newly renewed status as a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University.

Particularly after a bike-riding student was killed by the driver of a university truck, in a crash that still hasn’t been adequately explained.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1592732758497198081

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Yet another ebike rebate program is kicking in before dysfunctional California can get its fully funded ebike rebate act together.

This time in Austin, Texas.

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It’s the opposite of road rage, as a bike rider in the UK apologizes for crash into a van, and the driver says “don’t worry about it.”

@norfolkdashcam

The Van Driver was fine about the situation. No dramas. #Accident #Cyclist #Cycle #Van #Norfolk #NorfolkDashCam #UKRoads #DashCamFootage #DashCam #UKDashCam #CaughtOnCamera #Fail #CyclistsOfTiktok

♬ original sound – Norfolk Dash Cam

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Now that’s what I call an endorsement.

Averaging almost 14 mph for 34 hours on a heavy three-speed roadie isn’t bad, either.

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‘Tis the season.

Over 300 Odessa, Texas second graders got matching new bikes and helmets thanks to Occidental Petroleum and bike charity Wish for Wheels.

Kansas City’s first bicycle collective is celebrating 15 years of turning junk into transportation for the city’s most vulnerable residents.

A team of 200 volunteers are working to prepare 400 “gently used” bicycles to give to Atlanta kids in need this holiday season.

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

A Hoboken, New Jersey city councilmember says he was the victim of a road-raging driver, who intentionally plowed into his bikeshare bike.

A London man was lucky to get out of the way when an SUV driver accelerated at him as he attempted to block the vehicle with his bicycle, destroying his bike.

London bicyclists are subjected to “dehumanizing language” and abuse on social media, and fear that anger could translate to attacks on the roads.

No bias here. A leading Swiss economist says that people on bicycles can be up to four times more damaging to the environment than cars, accusing officials of using “creative accounting” and “official tricks” to hide the damage done by bikes — apparently because he somehow thinks all bike riders refuel with beef, and drivers evidently don’t. 

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

Police in New York are looking for a man on an ebike who shot and killed a promising 21-year old basketball player.

Hampshire, England police are on the lookout for a man on a bicycle who threatened and shoved a man riding a mobility scooter after he moved his scooter over to let the bike rider pass.

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Local

No surprise here, as the woman whose home was destroyed by actress Anne Heche in a drunken crash last August has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Heche’s estate; Heche later died from her injuries after falling into a coma once she was finally extracted from the fiery crash.

 

State 

He gets it. A Rancho Bernardo author says we must “recognize and respect that walkers and bicyclists have the right to safety on our roads.” And we can’t use the fact that there are “bad actors in every mode as an excuse to not address the reality of these tragic incidents.”

San Diego has announced the three finalists in a contest to name the city’s new mini electric street sweeper, designed to remove trash from bike lanes and other narrow spots, even as San Diego reduces the frequency of street sweeping in large swaths of the city.

Bakersfield officials held a public workshop to develop a package of traffic calming tools that can be used to tame the city’s notoriously deadly streets.

 

National

Bicycling rates the best early Black Friday ebike sales available right now. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Channing Tatum is one of us, as his relationship with Zoë Kravitz went public last year when a New York paparazzo spotted Tatum giving Kravitz a ride to her writing partner’s house on the back of his BMX bike.

A new accessible mountain bike trail built on the site of a former New Jersey wild animal park is designed to accommodate bike riders of all abilities

A local weekly ranks the top ten Philly bikeways for your next visit to the City of Brotherly Love.

 

International

Canadian Cycling Magazine goes riding on dirt roads through the interior of Mexico from Puerto Vallarta to Mexico City.

Bike shops holding out for big Black Friday sales may be disappointed, as new research shows UK shoppers are holding onto their money.

The Jerusalem Post says riding a bike is a great way to get to know your city better.

Hanoi, Vietnam is considering a one-year bikeshare pilot program with 1,000 bikes — including 500 ebikes — available at 94 docking stations throughout the city

 

Competitive Cycling

After a pair of top ten finishes in the Giro Donne and Tour de France Femmes, Italian classics specialist Silvia Persico thinks she has a real shot at winning the women’s Tour.

Some of the top pros are hanging up their bike shoes and pulling on running shoes to keep in shape during the off season.

 

Finally…

Your next bike seat could be made of environmentally friendly cork. Now you, too, can build your own DIY bike made entirely of nuts.

No, not the kind you eat.

And shockingly, painted stripes and car-tickler plastic bendy posts are no match for bigass trucks.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

71-year old Samuel Rivera dies nine days after Long Beach hit-and-run; over 1/3 of SoCal bike deaths have been hit-and-runs

November 15, 2022 / / 2 comments

Go ahead and call it murder.

A Long Beach man is dead, nine days after he was run down by a heartless coward who left the 71-year old lying critically injured in the street.

According to KCBS-2, Samuel Juarez Rivera was riding his bicycle in a crosswalk on northbound Walnut Ave, when he was struck by a driver traveling west on Anaheim Street around 6:20 am on Friday, November 4th.

Rivera was rushed to a local hospital, where he reportedly died on Monday; however, the Press-Telegram reports he passed away on Sunday, November 13th.

No word on whether he was conscious or able to talk with investigators. Or who may have had the green light at the time of the crash.

There’s also no information on whether the driver may have been speeding, distracted or impaired.

Police are looking for the driver of a white sedan; there’s no further description of the car or driver at this time.

What is certain is that Rivera deserved better.

Anyone with information is urged to call Long Beach Police Detective Joseph Johnson at 562/570-7355.

This is at least the 73rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 24th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

At least 24 of the bike riders killed in Southern California have been the victims of hit-and-run drivers.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Election bodes well for bikes, DUI hit-and-run driver on trial in Huntington Beach, and South LA CicLAvia route announced

November 10, 2022 / / One comment
Let’s start with a quick recap of Tuesday’s election.

The short version is, nobody won.

Yet.

The large number of mail-in ballots received on and dropped off on Election Day means it could be more than a week before we have final results.

However, as things currently stand, Rick Caruso and Karen Bass are in a virtual dead heat for mayor, with Caruso holding a slight lead.

Meanwhile, bike rider and corgi dad Kenneth Mejia holds a seemingly insurmountable lead over termed-out councilmember and career politician Paul Koretz to become city controller and the first person of Filipino ancestry to hold elective office in the City of Angeles.

Bike-friendly Katy Yaroslavsky, daughter-in-law of longtime LA office holder Zev Yaroslavsky, has an 11 point lead to replace Koretz in CD5, which should mark a sea change for active transportation on the Westside.

Tracy Park holds a nearly 11 point lead over bike-friendly Erin Darling to succeed retiring Councilmember Mike Bonin in CD11.

Hugo Soto-Martinez has a tighter five point lead over incumbent Mitch O’Farrell in CD13; if he can hold the lead, it could be a major win for active transportation in the district, where O’Farrell blocked nearly all bike projects, and only came around to support Sunset for All to gain support as he battled for re-election.

Tim McCosker has a seemingly insurmountable 30 point lead over progressive Daniel Sandoval to replace termed-out Joe Buscaino in CD15, following Sandoval’s wage theft scandal that effectively sank her prospects. I don’t have a feel for what McCosker’s expected victory will mean for bike and pedestrian projects in a district that stretches from San Pedro to Watts.

Career politician Bob Hertzberg holds a slim 1.5% lead over West Hollywood Councilmember Lindsey Horvath for LA County Supervisor; a Hertzberg victory would represent a significant conservative shift compared outgoing Supervisor Shiela Kuehl.

Retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna leads incumbent Alex Villanueva for LA County Sheriff, whose department has long used pretext stops to target bicyclists for riding while Black or brown. Especially brown.

State Measure 30, which would have taxed millionaires to fund e-cars and prevent wildfires, went down to defeat by a 2-1 margin.

The next update isn’t expected until tomorrow. We’ll catch up on some of the smaller cities in LA County as official results are announced.

Photo by Element5 Digital from Pexels.

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You’ve got to be kidding.

A Huntington Beach man finally went on trial in the alleged drunken, hit-and-run death of 33-year old Raymond MacDonald as he rode his bike in the city in 2019.

The collision that killed MacDonald was just one of three crashes 28-year old Victor Manuel Romero stands accused of on that March night, after getting drunk and into a fight in a bar parking lot.

Despite assuring police he would call for a ride, he instead got behind the wheel of his BMW and tore out of the parking lot, hitting the bar owner’s Caddy on the way out.

He then slammed into MacDonald, driving so fast an Uber driver waiting at the intersection felt his car rock as Romero blew by; MacDonald was like dead by the time he hit the pavement.

He then hit another car after blowing through a red light, and was arrested back near the bar after fleeing on foot.

Unbelievably, his attorney tried to blame his actions, not on being drunk or merely an asshole, but by claiming he suffered a concussion from repeated blows to the head while on the losing end of the fight, which somehow affected his decision making.

Sure. Let’s go with that.

Granted, even the worst client has a right to a defense. And his attorney can’t be blamed for throwing whatever Hail Mary he can in the face of overwhelming evidence.

But maybe he could come up with something even slightly more credible.

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In more enjoyable news, CicLAvia announced the route for the year’s last open streets event next month in South LA.

The South LA Expo Park to Watts CicLAvia will roll December 4th, on a route that will take it along Martin Luther King Blvd from Exposition Park to Historic South Central — the birthplace of West Coast Jazz — then along Central Ave to Florence-Firestone and ending on 103rd Street in Watts, the home turf of the East Side Riders.

The late date means the event will be subject to the whims of what passes for winter weather in Los Angeles. However, many people who have attended previous South LA CicLAvias have ranked them among the best events in the 12-year history of CicLAvia.

And it certainly offers some of the best food you’ll find anywhere in Los Angeles.

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Nothing like getting right hooked on a protected bike lane.

https://twitter.com/EntitledCycling/status/1590388180783857666

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San Francisco voted overwhelmingly to keep JFK Drive permanently carfree through Golden Gate Park, while overwhelmingly defeating a measure to reopen JFK and the Great Highway to cars.

State Senator Scott Wiener credits his SB288 with exempting the projects from CEQA review, forcing opponents to take it to a vote of the people, where it was resoundingly rejected,

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Don’t worry. If a Tesla driver runs you down, they may not be texting.

They might just be on a Zoom call.

Thanks to HowTheWestWS for the heads-up.

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That feeling when the Twitter bird flees Elon Musk, and takes up residence in your bike wheel.

Which I suppose beats the hell out of a monkey in your spokes.

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Everesting — climbing the height of Mt. Everest on a bicycle — is hard enough. Imagine doing it when you can’t breathe.

An inspiring new video tells the story of South African cyclist Jason van’t Slot, who broke the record for the fastest successful Everesting attempt by someone with cystic fibrosis.

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

No bias here. A San Diego letter writer says “Same road, same rules” cuts both ways, insisting that stops signs and red lights apply to people on bikes, too. Apparently, he’s never watched drivers at red lights and stop signs, either.

No bias here, either. A British Conservative politician responds to a viral clip of an oncoming driver refusing to pause for a five-year old kid on a bike by saying the child shouldn’t be riding on the street in the first place. Because there are so much better places for families to ride where they’re going, evidently. 

This is why people keep dying on the roads. A British driver walked without a single day behind bars for using his car as a weapon to ram into a man on a bike in reverse, after the man slapped his car when the driver yelled for him and another bike rider to get out of the road. Adding insult to injury, he’ll get his damn drivers license back after a lousy six-month suspension, when it should have been revoked for life.

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

Police in Carlsbad are looking for a road-raging bike rider who attacked a car driven by a pair of teens by trying to open their door and punching a window, before smashing the windshield, then allegedly lying in wait for them down the road; the altercation reportedly began when traffic bogged down as the rider was crossing the intersection, which “got him all spun up and (one of the teens) retaliated at him and got upset at him.” I assume that last quote means something, but we may need a teen-to-English translation before it makes any sense. As we’ve said many times before, though, violence is never the right answer, no matter how justified it may seem at the time. 

NYPD officers are looking for an armed “menace” riding a bikeshare bike who repeatedly pointed a gun at pedestrians, for no apparent reason.

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Local

An experimental program developed by a UCLA professor is paying people to bikepool between the Eastside and Downtown; Civic Bicycle Commuting, aka CiBiC, allows participants to earn credits worth up to $300 a month.

A fire at the El Segundo Chevron plant inevitably means Southern California gas prices will be going up. To which bike commuters seem oddly unconcerned.

 

State 

California set a record for greenhouse gas reductions in 2020, which was more than offset by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions last year, as miles driven rebounded to pre-pandemic levels; a full 40% of LA County’s greenhouse gas emissions come from motor vehicle tailpipes.

Santa Barbara county supervisors took the first step necessary to approve a proposed bike path along San Diego’s Modoc Road, helped in part by a large turnout by supporters.

Berkeley took the first step towards banning red turns on right at every intersection in the city.

The San Francisco Examiner explains California’s requirements for bike lights and reflectors. However, the law only applies if you’re riding after sunset or before sunrise, although police have been known to use daytime light checks as an illegal pretext stop.

Sad news from Sacramento, where a woman riding a bike was killed in a hit-and-run Wednesday afternoon.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a custom lowrider frame worth eight grand made by students at a Sacramento high school.

Finishing our Sacramento trifecta, city officials are asking people to pick which crappy plastic bendy bollard they want to offer a false sense of protection on bike lanes.

 

National

Transport for America says education, enforcement and technology — the cornerstones of American Vision Zero programs — don’t make streets safer; what does is better roadway designs.

A piece from the Congress for the New Urbanism calls ebikes essential technology for the 15 minute city.

Your next ebike could come with an automatic transmission; meanwhile, a new regenerative-braking ebike conversion kit promises to turn your existing bike into an ebike in just 30 seconds, you can buy it now on Kickstarter for half the planned $599 retail price.

Men’s Journal offers tips on winter fat tire bike riding, as well as their favorite bikes for the job, while Gear Patrol has advice on how to make your first bikepacking trip a success.

Triathlete offers a temperature-based guide to choosing bikewear.

Giro joins the LED-lighted bike helmet club.

She gets it. An op-ed in The Seattle Times says in order to improve safety for pedestrians, we need to prioritize the people who aren’t in cars. Which goes for protecting bike riders, too.

More bad news from Las Vegas, where a second bike rider has died following a drunken, serial hit-and-run that has now killed two people and injured seven others, while damaging ten vehicles.

Now that’s singletrack. A mountain bike trail stretches 567 continuous miles through the Colorado backcountry from Denver to Durango.

Accused killer Kaitlin Armstrong will go on trial next June for the May murder of gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Austin, Texas.

Authorities in Chicago have apparently concluded that parking in bike lanes isn’t such a big deal, chopping the fine in half, from $500 to $250. Which is still more than in Los Angeles.

Residents of Provincetown, Rhode Island are just the latest to get ebike rebates before California’s long-delayed program goes into effect, with qualified buyers eligible for up to $1,200.

We could use a lot more people like this. Nearly 30 years after financial problems forced a New Jersey man to drop out of Howard University, he’s raised over $100,000 through an annual bike ride to help other students live out their educational dreams at Historic Black Colleges and Universities, aka HBCUs.

 

International

British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid marks the 100th anniversary of drivers running pedestrians — and bike riders — off the road, when an engineering journal article by roadbuilder Edward J. Mehren called for a radical redesign of roadways to make them the exclusive domain of motor vehicles.

Road.cc recalls bygone bike tech we’re well rid of. Although if we completely get rid of wing nuts, we’ll have to find another term for all those assorted whack jobs. Oh.

Tragic news from Tijuana, where a longtime bike advocate and scholar was crushed to death by the driver of a cargo truck while riding in the Playas de Tijuana neighborhood.

A Vancouver couple were able to recover their stolen bike, along with five of their neighbors bikes, thanks to an Apple AirTag.

New wildcat posters instruct Toronto drivers to keep parking in bike lanes, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Nurses at a London hospital are using ebikes to make patient rounds in the neighboring community.

A London TikTok user shares video of a midnight bicycle magical mystery tour through the lights of the city.

Now you, too, can own your very own Irish e-bikemaker, as the country’s High Court has forced Modmo Technologies into liquidation after a recall due to a dangerously defective battery mount crippled its finances.

Add this one to your bike bucket list. Try taking a bike tour along Italy’s 2,300-year old, 373-mile Roman Appian Way.

A new Spanish ebike foldie is made from plant resin, and promises to fold in just one second.

Life is cheap in New Zealand, where an Aukland prison guard walked with community service for killing a 70-year old man riding his bike on a rural road

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist goes on the road with Tour de France mechanics.

Pro cyclist Rebecca Fahringer is crossing over to gravel racing, after suffering a series of concussions racing ‘cross.

Four-time Tour de France champ Chris Froome says UCI’s points system needs an overhaul, calling the new relegation system a death sentence for many cycling teams.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could be made with artificial meteorites. When you’re riding your bike with an outstanding felony warrant, maybe try riding with traffic, instead. Artistic cycling could be your next new thing.

And here’s a really nice bike themed song from Los Angeles artist Runner, not to be confused with the ’70s band.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Man in 50s killed killed riding bike in crosswalk in West Adams hit-and-run

November 5, 2022 / / Comments Off on Man in 50s killed killed riding bike in crosswalk in West Adams hit-and-run

Once again, a Southern California driver has left an innocent victim to die alone in the street.

According to multiple sources, a man was killed when he was struck by a driver LA’s West Adams neighborhood late Thursday night.

The crash occurred as he was while riding his bike in a crosswalk at the intersection of Hauser Blvd and Adams Blvd around 11:35 pm.

The victim died at the scene. He’s identified only as a Hispanic man in his 50s, who appeared to be homeless.

The driver fled following the crash; no description was given of the suspect or their vehicle.

Anyone with information is urged to call 877/527-3247.

This is at least the 72nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 23rd that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; he’s also the 13th person killed riding a bike in the City of Los Angeles.

Twenty-three of those SoCal victims have been killed by hit-and-run drivers.

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

Thanks to bike lawyer James Johnson for the heads-up. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Call for Martinez and De León to resign after racist rant, CicLAvia returns to DTLA, and vehicular murder in Griffith Park

October 10, 2022 / / 4 comments

Let’s start with a story that has nothing to do with bicycles.

And everything to do with all of us in Los Angeles.

A recording surfaced yesterday of City Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmembers Kevin De León and Gil Cedillo, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, using racist language while breaking down redistricting arguments strictly along racial lines.

Never mind calling their gay fellow councilmembers a “bitch” and a “diva.” Or referring to Oaxacan immigrants as ugly little people.

I won’t get into all it. You can, and should, read it on your own. Because as ugly as I make it sound, the reality is far worse.

Suffice it to say that Martinez described the Black toddler son of fellow Councilmember Mike Bonin and his husband as a monkey and a fashion accessory, while De León compared him to a Louis Vuitton handbag.

Both Martinez and Kevin De León have supported bikes in recent years, and the bike community have supported them in kind. And both have apologized for their comments.

But that’s not good enough.

Which is why I’m joining with countless other Angelenos and LA organizations calling for their resignations.

There is no place for open racism in our government at any level. It is simply unacceptable, and beneath contempt.

And if they don’t have the integrity to quit, we’ll may have recall them to force them both out.

The only reason I’m not calling for Cedillo’s resignation is that he has already, and deservedly, lost his bid for re-election. But if he had any dignity, he’d leave on his own, right now.

Which in his case is a pretty damn big if, given what we already know about him.

Meanwhile, this is also more proof that it’s time to take redistricting entirely out of the council’s hands, and let a civilian commission have the final say.

Photo of our intern and mascot on the new 6th Street Bridge during yesterday’s CicLAvia.

………

In happier news, a good time was had by all at yesterday’s Heart of LA CicLAvia.

Or nearly all, anyway. A couple of firefighters indicated the day was mostly event free, despite a wave of injuries at the beginning of the day.

The route, which for the first time led to Echo Park and the new 6th Street Bridge, saw a massive turnout as Angelenos took advantage of the near perfect weather.

My wife and I, and corgi, included.

Here are a few photos to capture the day.

Nikita of the Real Rydaz poses with her bike.

Both award-winning bikes were built by Will of the Real Rydaz.

Frank Gehry’s new The Grand LA adds to the LA skyline.

………

This is who we share the road with.

What started out as yet another a hit-and-run in Griffith Park ended with a murder charge.

News broke Saturday evening that a pedestrian had been killed by a driver earlier in the day. The woman fled the scene, leaving her victim to die in the street on Fern Dell Drive.

The driver was arrested the following day, after investigators concluded that the 70-year old victim’s 32-year old girlfriend had intentionally run him over — using his own car — following an argument.

Sonia Sovereign reportedly confessed to the crime, and is being held on a murder charge on $1 million bail.

And it may not have been her first brush with the law, as a woman with the same name, and the right age, led Colorado police on a drunken chase half a decade earlier.

Just one more argument for why cars don’t belong in the park. Or any park, for that matter.

………

Michael Siegal of South Pas Active Streets forwards news of a successful first Walk and Roll at two South Pasadena elementary schools.

Local community organization South Pas Active Streets organized three “bike bus” rides to school on October 5th to Arroyo Vista and Marengo elementary schools. Coinciding with South Pasadena Walk or Bike to School Day, these chaperoned, safety-in-numbers bike rides created an active way to get to school for children who otherwise might not have the opportunity.

Over 30 children and 20 adults participated in one of three different routes to school.  With a core group of riders starting the ride at one end, participants would join the bike bus along its route as it wound its way toward school.  Besides parents, volunteers on these rides included members of DUDES South Pasadena and Mayor Michael Cacciotti.

South Pas Active Streets seeks to provide safe opportunities for active mobility, supporting our childrens’ health, independence, and well-being.  With the success of Wednesday’s first-ever South Pas Walk and Roll, the organization will be coordinating more bike buses and walking buses in the future.

More information on the event, the routes and photos are at southpasactive.org/home/south-pas-walk-and-roll

………

I’d be more impressed with the new protected bike lanes on San Vicente if they weren’t half in the gutter.

But at least the city is building something in the mobility plan, for a change.

https://twitter.com/streetsforall/status/1578168132589346816

………

As we mentioned last week, CSUN is hosting a family-friendly Bikefest in two weeks.

Thanks to Steven Hallett for the heads-up.

………

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

A failed candidate for state legislature took credit for throwing a red plastic cup full of cider at a Chicago alderman, as he rode past on his bike with about 50 other people to examine existing bike infrastructure and brainstorm improvements. If you can call it “credit,” that is.

No bias here. Louisville KY writer complains about “militant” bicyclists, who hide their anti-car agenda “behind code words like safety, health, vibrant and even equity.” Um, sure. Let’s go with that.

Someone is sabotaging a DC bike lane by repeatedly dumping construction nails into it.

In an apparent attempt to thin the herd, a separated bike lane in Manchester, England, is shared with truck drivers headed the opposite direction to a delivery bay, resulting in a bizarre game of chicken as drivers go head-on towards people on bikes.

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

Police in Santa Barbara are looking for a blond man who allegedly fled the scene by bicycle after beating a man to death, before possible stealing a car to complete his getaway.

An English man faces charges for mowing down two bicyclists while speeding downhill and riding salmon in a London park, and barely missing another rider.

………

Local

An op-ed in the LA Times looks at the new law decriminalizing jaywalking in most circumstances, and the historic automotive hegemony that led to jaywalking laws in the first place.

A man in his 50s was critically injured in a Westminster hit-and-run while riding his bike Thursday evening.

 

State 

Camarillo approved a proposal to authorize just over $910,000 to hire engineering and environmental consultants for a planned $6 million bike lane extension on Central Ave. Although that’s a hell of a lot of money for just a third of a mile of bike lanes, so let’s hope there’s more to it than that.

Sad news from San Jose, where a man riding a bicycle was killed when he was struck by two separate motorists, one of whom fled the scene.

The Stanford student paper examines the presence of roundabouts on campus, explaining that they serve to slow drivers below 25 mph.

Just days after Alameda’s mayor killed plans for a protected bike lane, he raised it back up from the dead.

A planned 47-mile bike trail through the Napa Valley wine country could turn it into a bicycling destination to rival Provence.

 

National

A writer for an RV site recommends ebikes for the RV life.

Seventy-seven years after the end of WWII, an Italian man is riding from Seattle to Phoenix to retrace his grandfather’s journey as an Italian prisoner of war.

A Utah truck driver bought a new bike for a five year old boy because he felt bad about the crash that sent the kid to the hospital.

A Denver writer applauds the city for moving quickly to expand its bike network while listening to feedback from the community.

My bike-friendly Colorado hometown is getting its first advisory lane on a street I grew up riding. Something tells me it will go a little better than a similar street design did in San Diego.

Life is cheap in Massachusetts, where a 91-year old driver walked with a lousy traffic ticket for right-hooking a bike rider, who was seriously injured when he landed in the car’s back seat after crashing through the closed rear window. But at least the police asked to have his driver’s license revoked.

A rescue swimmer used a borrowed beach cruiser to save an elderly Florida man and woman, and their dog, following Hurricane Ian.

 

International

Engadget proclaims this the age of the cargo bike. Thanks to Victor Bale for the tip.

The newest Roman Catholic saint was one of us. Italian Artedime Zatti was famed for riding his bicycle throughout the Argentine town of Viedma with a medical case to care for the sick.

She gets it. An op-ed by a Toronto advocate says if we want to get more people on bikes, we have to change our cultural and political deference to cars first.

Nice BBC report on an Indian man who has opened a museum to house his collection of over 150 bicycles, many of which he restored himself. And insists he’s not doing it for the money, but just wants to share them with the world. Thanks to Norm Bradwell for the link.

New Zealand’s Stuff says cycling clubs are disappearing because they can’t afford the onerous traffic management plans.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar edged Enric Mas to defend his title at Il Lombardia, the year’s final Monument; the race also marked the last competitions for former Grand Tour champs Alejandro Valverde and Vincenzo Nibali, who care calling it a career.

Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert is also calling it a career after one last race in Sunday’s Paris-Tours, which was won in a sprint by defending champ Arnaud Démare.

France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won the inaugural women’s gravel World Championship, while Belgium’s Gianni Vermeersch upset Mathieu van der Poel to take the men’s title.

Italian time trial specialist Filippo Ganna shattered the hour record, traveling 56.792 kilometers in 60 minutes — 1.2 km further than the previous record, set by Britain’s Dan Bigham less than two months ago. That works out to a whopping 35.289 miles.

Ganna not only broke the record, he unified the title by also beating Chris Boardman’s 26-year old “superman” record.

Cycling Tips offers photos from Ganna’s record-setting ride.

Five weird ways cyclists bent, if not broke, the rules.

British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid profiles L39ion of Los Angeles co-founder and CEO Justin Williams.

 

Finally…

Britain’s wackiest bike race. That feeling when your competitor for a city council seat rescues your stolen ebike bike from a homeless camp, and you still have to run against him.

And now you, too, can race your own hologram.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Arrest made in Redondo Beach hit-and-run, and Venice Blvd protected bike lane extension approved — and delayed

October 6, 2022 / / 2 comments

Maybe it’s a secret.

LA County Sheriff’s deputies made an arrest in the hit-and-run that left a 15-year old Redondo Beach boy with severe road rash, after the driver dragged the teen and his bike under his truck last month.

But they’re not telling us who the suspect is, or giving any details about him.

The driver was arrested after the deputies spotted the truck in Rolling Hills Estates on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, he’s likely to face just two years behind bars due to California’s overly lenient hit-and-run laws.

………

LADOT told the Mar Vista Community Council that the new extension of the Venice Blvd protected bike lanes and bus lanes will be moving forward.

Sort of.

Mar Vista Voice offers a detailed thread capturing the highlights — or lowlights — of the meeting, including the power of local NIMBYs to delay, if not halt, vital safety projects.

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The world reached a tragic milestone this week — and one to which the US contributes more than its share.

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Meet LA’s cute little bike lane mini sweeper.

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

Four men have been arrested in the stabbing death of a 21-year old man in a London suburb; the men ran the victim down with their car and knocked him off his bike when he rode off after colliding with them.

A London bus driver lost his appeal to keep his job after he was fired for dangerously swerving onto the wrong side of the road to pass a bicyclist he thought was delaying him, then brake checked the bike rider, forcing him to ride up on the curb to avoid plowing into the bus.

………

Local

You can look forward to bike lockers and bike racks at many stations when Metro’s K Line, aka Crenshaw Line, opens this Friday.

Streetsblog gives a rave review to GoSGV, the new monthly ebike rental program from ActiveSGV and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.

More on the groundbreaking for Baldwin Park’s first urban bike and pedestrian path; the $1.15-million commuter bikeway will take you to Kaiser Permanente and the In-N-Out HQ.

 

State 

The Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously to approve construction of a half-million dollar bicycle boulevard on Utica Ave.

Goleta approved the $28.3 million San Jose Creek bike and pedestrian path connecting the downtown area with the beach and bike path on the other side of the 101 Freeway; the plan moves forward after languishing on the books for over 30 years.

Berkeley will reconsider previously approved protected bike lanes on Hopkins Street in North Berkeley, after learning it will require the removal of twice as many parking spaces as previously estimated. Because as we all know, places to store cars when they aren’t being used are far more important than protecting human lives — let alone giving an economic boost to local businesses. 

Unbelievable. A San Mateo County woman is dead after a truck driver slammed into her bicycle while driving on the wrong side of the road last month, because he was working on just two hours sleep and driving with a puppy on his lap; he veered onto the wrong side of the road when the puppy fell off and he bent over to pick it up. He faces a well-deserved charge of felony vehicular manslaughter.

 

National

A car site tries out Audi’s Cellular Vehicle-To-Everything (C-V2X) safety system to alert drivers to the presence of bicycles, and the other way around. Although it only works if both the bike rider and the driver have it installed.

A writer for Forbes says Rad Power’s RadRunner Plus electric utility bike is the best ebike for college students. Never mind that he admits he hasn’t tried the other bikes, owns two Rad Power bikes already, and his son rides one on his California campus. So, totally objective, then.

Speaking of Rad Power, the ebike maker faces another lawsuit after one of their bikes allegedly “malfunctioned and failed catastrophically,” causing a fire that damaged a Pennsylvania man’s home and car.

They get it. A New York website says we need ebike incentives, not bans.

 

International

After spending four years riding around the world, a man discovers that travel isn’t about the destination.

Good question. A Toronto paper wants to know why there are still thousands of ring-style bike racks on the streets, even though the city has known for more than a decade that they’re subject to theft; after the current rate, they’ll finally replace the last one sometime between 2041 and 2050. Canadian law may vary, however, knowing about the problem and failing to fix it could means the city can be held liable if a bike is stolen from one.

A European site questions why bicycles have remained largely unchanged for 150 years, despite the a number of “demonstrably superior” designs.

A Scottish teenager set a new record by riding to 76 of the country’s castles, covering 480 miles in six days.

Britain’s active transportation nonprofit Sustrans calls on the country’s new government to make protected bike lanes on school routes an urgent priority.

Go truffle hunting by bicycle on Tuscany’s fabled Strade Bianchi gravel roads, while staying at an 800-year old wine estate.

We Love Cycling, the bike-focused website from Czech carmaker Škoda, takes a look at some of the lesser known bike-related world records. Maybe we should all take a crack at the world’s highest bunny hop; I’m pretty sure I can clear at least an inch. Maybe two.

Israeli medics treated 2,741 people for bicycling injuries over Yom Kippur, when people traditionally take advantage of the empty streets to ride their bikes.

A comprehensive review of existing literature by an Australian university on the reasons why people don’t ride bikes points the finger at “fear of motorist aggression” and poor quality and badly maintained bike lanes. Other reasons include a lack of bike education, mandatory helmet laws, and overly hilly bikeways.

 

Competitive Cycling

The high-tech National Cycling League will offer a $1 million dollar purse, in addition to prize money for individual crits in Miami, Atlanta, Denver and DC.

Here’s your chance to become a fully supported endurance cyclist. Three people will be selected for the Ultra Distance Scholarship, each of whom will receive a custom Stayer Cycles bike, full Albion bike kit and nine months of training support from Velogi Cycle Coaching in preparation to compete in next year’s Pan Celtic Race.

This is the crap women’s cyclists have to deal with. After Dutch pro Lorena Wiebes rode to victory in Belgium’s Binche-Chimay-Binche, she had to contend with an overly handsy and persistent race official, despite making it clear she was uncomfortable having his hands on her body.

 

Finally…

Where else can you go for a bike-friendly drag brunch in DTLA? Your next aluminum-frame ebike could be assembled at home using an ancient Chinese woodworking technique.

And that feeling when a 90-year old man chases a thief down and beats the crap out of him for stealing his wallet, after the man got in by claiming he fell off his bike.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Update: Man riding bicycle killed in South LA’s Florence neighborhood; 22nd SoCal bicyclist killed in hit-and-runs this year

September 30, 2022 / / Comments Off on Update: Man riding bicycle killed in South LA’s Florence neighborhood; 22nd SoCal bicyclist killed in hit-and-runs this year

This isn’t the news anyone wanted to end our week with.

The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver who killed a man riding a bicycle in the Florence neighborhood of South Los Angeles last night.

The victim, identified only as an adult male, was riding north on Wall Street at 61st Street when he was run down by the driver of a westbound panel van around 11 pm Thursday.

He died at the scene.

The driver continued without stopping, dragging the victim around 30 feet underneath the van. Police say he had to have felt the impact and known he’d hit something.

The crash, which was caught on security cam, took place on a quiet residential intersection controlled only by two-way stop signs on Wall. KCBS-2 suggests the victim may have run the stop sign, though that is unclear at this time.

Police are looking for a white commercial panel van with a roof rack and conduit carrier, possibly a 1996 to 2022 GMC Savana or Chevrolet Express, with likely front end damage.

Investigators speculate the driver may be a plumber or construction worker who lives in the area.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Officer Alex Guizar, Central Traffic Detectives, at 213/833-3713 or email 39761@lapd.online, or call the Central Traffic Division Watch Commander at 213/833-3746.

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 69th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 21st that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the 11th in the City of Los Angeles.

Twenty-two of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Update: The victim has been identified as 72-year old James Ledford. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for James Ledford and all his loved ones.

 

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

Redondo Beach teen dragged by hit-and-run driver, callous Mar Vista council member, and 3rd ST protected bike lanes

September 28, 2022 / / 2 comments

Whatever the hell illness I’ve been dealing with appears to have broken finally, so let’s ease back into things by catching up on a few stories we’ve missed, along with today’s news. 

And please forgive me for not keeping track of who sent me links this time. Under the circumstances, I was happy just to keep track of my meals.

………

While we were gone, Redondo Beach police were searching for the hit-and-run driver who ran over a 15-year old boy riding an ebike, dragging the boy and his bike underneath for half a block.

When the kid somehow managed to free himself from under the truck, he demanded that the driver stop his truck and get out.

Instead the jerk — which is the mildest term we can use here — backed up his pickup, freeing the boy’s bicycle, before zooming off.

Thankfully, the victim wasn’t seriously injured, though he did suffer severe road rash.

Let’s hope the driver is feeling his pain.

………

This is why people keep dying on our streets.

An elected member of the Mar Vista Community Council explains why she opposes extending the Venice Blvd protected bike lanes and bus lanes.

And no, she doesn’t just sound callous.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog discovers newly protected bike lanes on Venice Blvd in the opposite direction, in front of the Helms Bakery complex.

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The new half-mile long 3rd Street protected bike lane through DTLA is a thing now.

https://twitter.com/multimodalLA/status/1574949966824452096

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The East Side Riders Bike Club continues to give back by feeding the community on a weekly basis.

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The Los Angeles Times offers a guide for the bike-curious, starting with what they describe as eight breezy bike trails that will teach you about LA as you ride.

As long as you take a very expansive view of what’s LA, that is.

Not so forgivable is their framing of a story on “nine bike clubs to cruise LA with” for people who are afraid to ride alone. Not all of which are actually clubs.

And none of which require joining out of fear; you can also participate if you want to give back to the community, or just enjoy riding with like-minded people.

Seriously, they should know better.

………

The governor finally signed Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s parking reform bill, no thanks to our “climate mayor.”

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The US men’s soccer team is one of us.

Or 28 of us, anyway.

https://twitter.com/USMNT/status/1573961105554145281

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

Infuriating story from Redlands, where doctor and semi-pro cyclist Kyle Cooper was seriously injured in an apparent hit-and-run. Yet the local cops refused to believe him, somehow convinced it was just an “oopsie.”

A 28-year old Michigan woman faces charges for attacking a 19-year old man with a machete for no apparent reason as he rode his bike to work; fortunately, the victim survived his wounds.

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

Police in San Diego are looking for gunman who escaped by bicycle after shooting a 35-year old man in an aqueduct near westbound state Route 94; the victim was expected to survive, despite multiple gunshot wounds.

An English e-scooter rider faces charges for allegedly threatening a van driver with a meat cleaver for passing too closely.

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Local

Talk about throwing your life away. Twenty-three-year old Long Beach driver Carlo Navarro was sentenced to a very well-deserved 25 to life for wiping out an entire family; Navarro was convicted on three counts of murder for killing a mother, father and young child in a drunken, high-speed crash as they walked home from Trick-or-Treating on Halloween three years earlier.

Streets For All is hosting a meet-and-greet in Venice tomorrow night with Eric Darling, who is running to replace Mike Bonin in CD11.

Metro is hosting a virtual meeting tomorrow evening to discuss extending the LA River Bike Path through DTLA, as well as a virtual and in-person meeting on Saturday.

Pasadena approved 19 projects to replace the now-cancelled $230 million Gold Line grade separation, including a number of active transportation projects.

 

State 

Governor Newsom has signed a bill giving pedestrians priority at traffic lights by requiring leading pedestrian intervals; the recently signed Bicycle Omnibus Bill extends them to bicyclists, as well.

A 22-year old man got a well-deserved nine years behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run crash that killed 75-year old Allen Hunter II in Solano Beach last year; Lucas Beau Morgans had a BAC over twice the legal limit when he was arrested an hour and a half after the fatal crash.

Sad news from Sunnyvale, where a man riding a bicycle was killed in a collision Monday evening.

Oakland announced plans for a 16-mile protected greenway, providing the first walkable, bikeable path from Oakland’s Lake Merritt to the South Hayward BART station.

 

National

A new book examines how suburban vigilantes and NIMBYs took over in the latter part of the last century. Hint: It’s not just suburban NIMBYs and vigilantes.

Something is seriously wrong when an award-winning children’s book about a homemade bicycle assembled from scraps is banned thanks to thin-skinned cops.

A mother argues that rather than being dangerous, riding a bike on the road is one of the best things she does with her kids.

Pink Bike offers a guide to your dream job in the bike industry, with 17 high-level bike jobs that are open right now.

Seattle-based Rad Power Bikes is asking owners to park their RadWagon 4 bikes over fears the tires could pop while you’re riding. Which is probably a bad thing.

Ruth Orkin, the then 29-year old daughter of silent film star Mary Ruby, took the first unposed, color photograph to appear on a magazine cover — after riding her bicycle to New York when she was just 17.

A 71-year old New York man is using his megaphone — literally — to demand “Tour de France guys” in Central Park slow down. Never mind that he’s been convicted of election fraud.

Bicycling examines the nation’s most dangerous road for bicyclists, running eastward from Queens in New York State. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A Boston money manager still rides his bike to work at 95-years old.

 

International

Cycling Weekly talks with a sports psychologist about how to overcome the six most common bicycling fears. Yet somehow, they don’t even mention my biggest fear — getting run down by a distracted driver.

Bike riders in London, Ontario call for safer streets after a student was killed in a hit-and-run, saying it feels like life or death on the roads.

A British driver faces charges for the alleged stoned-driving death of a popular club cyclist participating in a time trial.

Thirty-year old Scottish twin brothers will stand trial for murdering a 63-year old man taking part in a fundraising ride; the men allegedly beat the victim to death after crashing into him while driving drunk.

Runners may have the bulls, but bike riders in Pamplona, Spain had to overcome the hills.

Taking a cue from Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival, Italy’s Bianchi goes electric. And yes, you have to be pretty damn old to get that reference.

 

Competitive Cycling

UCI announced a second Super Worlds, with all cycling events — including road, track, BMX, mountain bike and paracycling — taking place in the same week in Haute-Savoie, France, four years after next year’s Super Worlds in Glasgow.

This year’s Worlds were marked with drama when race favorite Mathieu van der Poel abandoned during the race, later revealing that he’d been arrested after confronting teenagers who repeatedly knocked on his door the night before the race, keeping him up all night. He was fined the equivalent of nearly $1,000 after being convicted on common assault.

 

Finally…

What if cities had driving and non-driving sections? Sure, you may be champion of the world, but your socks are too damn long.

And that feeling when you can buy a state-of-the-art hubless ebike for less than a concert ticket.

With free shipping, too.

………

A belated l’shanah tovah to everyone celebrating this week!

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Repeat DUI driver busted in fatal Newport Beach hit-and-run, and stoned distracted driver charged in killing of KC father of ten

September 15, 2022 / / One comment

Before we get started, our old friend Walt Arrrrr discovered a ghost bike installed in Baldwin Park.

After tracking it down, he discovered the victim was killed in a collision that barely made the news last month.

I’ll have more information later today.

………

The driver who killed 44-year old Costa Mesa resident Randon Cintron as he rode his bike on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach was arrested shortly after the crash.

Thirty-six-year old Anaheim resident Adriana Rivera Bernal was taken into custody a couple miles from the crash site.

Bernal was reportedly high on an undisclosed drug at the time of the crash, and held on $1 million bond on suspicion of murder and hit-and-run.

She reportedly has a long history of drug abuse, petty theft, ID theft and auto theft, as well as multiple DUIs, which explains the murder charge.

A crowdfunding campaign to pay Cintron’s funeral expenses has raised over $29,000, easily topping the $20,000 goal.

………

For anyone who, like me, has been following the case of the Kansas City teacher and father of ten children who was killed by an allegedly stoned hit-and-run driver, a crowdfunding campaign has raised over $204,000 of the $250,000 goal.

Meanwhile, the 27-year old driver has been charged with felony counts of hit-and-run resulting in death, and tampering with a motor vehicle; she reportedly admitted to police she was texting and high on Percocet when she ran the victim down, and allegedly set fire to her car afterward to coverup the crime.

She was also uninsured and driving on a suspended license.

More proof that taking a driver’s license away doesn’t necessarily stop anyone from driving. Officials have to impound the car, too.

Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.

………

Sometimes, you just have to save drivers from themselves.

Even if they don’t thank you for it.

https://twitter.com/EntitledCycling/status/1570134505763278848

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No car, no wilderness for you.

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People for Mobility Justice is hosting a ride to examine bike and pedestrian safety improvements in Wilmington .

………

Any LCIs want to help out in Menifee this Saturday?

………

Walk ‘n Rollers is heading to Culver City to celebrate my birthday host a Walk & Roll Festival on the 24th.

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Mark your calendar for next month.

………

Here’s another one to mark your calendar for.

https://twitter.com/NYC_SafeStreets/status/1570101221150846977

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There’s just something about this one that draws you in.

………

Sure, go to Australia to train for the Worlds.

But watch out for flying ‘roos.

………

That feeling when one little missing letter changes the whole meaning of the headline.

………

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

No bias here. A candidate for West Hollywood city council comes out in favor of keeping Fountain Ave dangerous, as John Duran says he’s running to “kill Council’s dumb ideas,” like replacing traffic lanes with bike lanes — even though the city estimates it will reduce crashes 35% to 40%.

A New Orleans public radio station examines a proposal to remove protected bike lanes from the usually neglected Algiers neighborhood, because some local residents find the bollards the “most intrusive, visually unappealing design available.” Because evidently, aesthetics matter more than saving human lives. 

A British transportation planner argues against taking the lane, suggesting that it just pisses drivers off.

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

A 56-year old Long Beach man faces charges for stabbing a couple outside a gay bar following a dispute, killing one man and seriously injuring another, before fleeing on his bicycle. A crowdfunding campaign to help pay the victims’ funeral costs and medical expenses has raised $37,000 of the $50,000 goal.

Multiple cars were hit with rocks thrown by a Portland man riding a bicycle and pulling a bike trailer; police cited the homeless bike rider for criminal mischief, adding to the 42 other citations he’s received recently.

………

Local

A man riding his bicycle in South LA was struck twice with bullets after hearing multiple gunshots, but was apparently unaware of where the shots came from.

That’s more like it. A 136-unit apartment building planned for LA’s Sawtelle neighborhood will feature 103 bicycle parking spaces, and just 93 spaces for cars.

Pasadena approves a list of 19 priority transportation projects using money Metro saved by not building an overpass on Colorado Blvd; half of the projects involve multimodal uses. Demonstrating that funds can actually be put to good use — a lot of good uses, in fact — instead of wasted on expensive, demand-inducing highway projects. 

Santa Monica made the list of eight small cities with bike friendly cultures, joining more established locations like Wisconsin’s Mad City, Boulder, CO and my Colorado hometown.

Long Beach’s Beach Streets carfree open streets event returns this Saturday, after a two-year pandemic-induced hiatus.

 

State 

Streetsblog is urging Gov. Newsom to veto AB 371, which would make bikeshare and e-scooter providers solely responsible for the negligent or reckless behavior of riders.

Electrek is teaming with Irvine-based e-bikemaker Super73 for a ride through Orange County Saturday evening. Even though the website uses a very expansive definition of Los Angeles.

Nice gesture, as Orange County residents contributed over 200 bouquets to continue the charitable work of eight-year old Bradley Rofer, who was killed riding his bike in Coto de Caza earlier this month; he donated the money he raised selling bouquets to support young cancer patients.

San Diego’s Blind Stoker’s Club is in the mix for a grant of up to $15,000.

Goleta will host a public meeting on September 20th to consider the San Jose Creek Bike Path Project, following the completion of the environmental review.

The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition is hosting their Bike to the Future annual fundraising ride on Sunday.

Oakland police still haven’t made an arrest in the hit-and-run involving an impatient driver during the monthly East Bay Bike Party, even though the department was presented with eyewitness accounts and the driver’s license plate number.

 

National

Writing for Outside, bike scribe Joe Lindsey makes the case for why you should buy an ebike instead of an EV.

The National Law Review examines the high cost of bicycle crashes, and the obvious cost-effectiveness of avoiding crashes in the first place.

A British boy features in a typical Facebook scam, as photos keep popping up saying he was struck by a driver September 4th in several different US towns; the boy was actually hit by a car in Grimsby, England three months earlier, while an accompanying photo of a bicycle comes from a 2021 crash in Santa Rosa.

How Google Maps could tweak their algorithms to make bicycling safer and more appealing.

Tomorrow’s Dateline NBC season premier will examine the murder of gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Austin, Texas, and the arrest of her accused love triangle killer Kaitlin Armstrong.

A former St. Louis drug dealer turned his life around by designing and building custom lowrider bicycles.

A Kentucky bike ride will take participants past several distilleries. Which seems like one hell of a wasted opportunity.

Sharing a bike lane with ebikes and scooters is one thing; sharing a New York bike lane with motorized lawn chairs is another.

A new study shows Philadelphia bikeshare use crossed geographic and socio-economic lines during the pandemic.

Drivers continue to blow through a DC stop sign, a year after a five-year old girl was killed while riding her bike in the crosswalk.

 

International

World Car-Free Day is one week from today. So how do you plan to celebrate?

Now you, too, can start your own bike brand.

Treehugger’s Lloyd Alter says America’s ebike revolution is in trouble, because too many supposed ebikes aren’t.

No surprise here, as a new study from Chile finds that income inequalities affect the presence and quality of bicycling infrastructure.

A Vancouver researcher uses her bike as a scientific tool to map the area’s bats.

More proof that government officials are the same almost everywhere, as Northern Ireland’s new infrastructure minister reneges on his pledge to introduce legislation to support safer bicycling.

British Cycling has removed a restriction on not riding bicycles during the queen’s funeral, in response to a significant backlash. Although they still would prefer your didn’t.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a man was sentenced to 30 months behind bars for the drunken, wrong way crash that nearly killed a 13-year old boy; he was so wasted the pub he was at cut him off, so he was driving to another to keep drinking when he hit the kid head-on while on the wrong side of the road.

Seriously? A London writer says you’re better off dealing with the city’s traffic than trying to ride a bike in Amsterdam.

Cycling Tips explains how East Africa’s Team Amani became the unlikely stars of Meta’s new ad campaign.

Tragic news from Thailand, where a British couple riding their bikes around the world were killed Wednesday when they were run down by a pickup driver outside of Bangkok.

 

Competitive Cycling

USA Cycling has added six riders to the US team for the Worlds, after fatigue, injuries and the fight for WorldTour teams to avoid relegation have taken a toll of the previous roster.

Cycling Tips debates whether cycling team relegation is a good idea. I’m all for it, myself. 

Our friend Peter Flax travels to Idaho to discover the myriad joys of gravel racing.

As you can see below, not all competitions involve spandex. Or two wheels, for that matter. (“Triporteur” translates to tricycle.)

 

Finally…

That feeling when you have to train a replacement after your bike-riding parrot dies. When you steal a tow truck, maybe don’t return to the scene of the crime to reclaim your bike.

And bike-riding cats are nothing new. But not many have their own helmet.

https://www.tiktok.com/@heyitsgingerandpepper/video/7142957087075749122?is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7142957087075749122&refer=embed&referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2F&referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fcat-helmet-bike-ride-viral-tiktok-video-1742860&referer_video_id=7142957087075749122

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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