Tag Archive for hit-and-run

East LA bike rider suffers serious injuries as driver runs away, and arraignment postponed for OC e-motorcycle mom

May 13, 2026 / / Comments Off on East LA bike rider suffers serious injuries as driver runs away, and arraignment postponed for OC e-motorcycle mom

A bike rider suffered serious injuries in an East LA collision Monday night, as a driver hit multiple vehicles as well as the victim’s bike.

The driver fled the scene on foot afterwards, literally running away.

The crash occurred at 10:30 pm in the 5300 block of Whittier Blvd, near Amalia Ave.

A photo taken after the crash shows the victim’s mangled bike resting on the curb, with the seat and handlebars snapped off the frame.

There’s no description of the victim or the suspect at this time.

Unfortunately, this occurred outside the City of Los Angeles in LA County, so the city’s standing hit-and-run reward doesn’t apply.

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An Aliso Viejo mom’s arraignment was postponed until next month, as she made her first court appearance yesterday.

Tommi Jo Mejer is charged with involuntary manslaughter, with prosecutors attempting to hold her responsible for her 14-year-old son crashing his illegal e-moto into an 81-year old man in Lake Forest last month.

Vietnam vet Ed Ashman died two weeks after he was struck on April 16th.

Prosecutors allege the 51-year old mother was repeatedly warned by police that her son was riding his illegal Surron e-motorcycle in a dangerously irresponsible manner.

He was reportedly popping wheelies when he crashed into Ashman, then fled the scene afterwards.

According to ABC-7,

“We have her on body-worn camera talking about and understanding the dangers and the illegality of this particular vehicle,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a recent interview with Eyewitness News. “I’m charging the mother because she provided the motorcycle, she was aware of it, she was warned on a prior occasion that this was a dangerous vehicle that her son could not legally possess, and certainly couldn’t ride. And, irrespective of those admonitions and warnings, she continued to allow him to do so.”

Mejer faces additional felony counts of child endangerment and being an accessory after the fact, along with misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and providing false information to a peace officer, as well as an infraction for permitting an unlicensed minor to drive a motor vehicle.

She faces a maximum sentence of seven years and eight months in state prison if convicted on all counts. There’s no word on what charges her minor son may face, if any.

Mejer was released on $100,000 bond, with her arraignment rescheduled for June 30th.

A crowdfunding campaign to help pay Ashman’s medical expenses has raised over $120,000.

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Santa Monica Spoke is hosting a Handlebar Happy Hour for Bike to Work Day tomorrow.

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

A longtime Glendale resident complains about bike lanes on La Crescenta Ave, hitting nearly every note in the standard roster of bike lane complaints, from the bike lanes are empty to the majority of residents oppose them. Which actually translates to some of the people he knows opposes them, unless he somehow took a poll of all the city’s residents, or at least everyone he knows.

An English city spent the equivalent of $3.65 million to rip out a bike lane they already spent the equivalent of $2.3 million to build — which means they spent nearly $6 million building and removing it, but at least traffic is “running smoothly” now. Apparently unlike whatever it was doing before all that.

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

The mayor of Girona, Spain ordered the police to investigate video of a bicyclist riding down the 400-year old stairs of the Pujada de Sant Domènec, one of the most recognizable points of the Old City, complaining that some bike tourists “disdain the city’s heritage and use it to show off.” Seriously, don’t do that.

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Local 

Los Angeles Public Press profiles the candidates to replace Bob Blumenfield in LA’s 3rd Council District.

 

State

This is who we share the road with. The victim of last week’s e-moto crash in Garden Grove has been identified as a 13-year old Garden Grove boy; he was riding a non-street legal electric dirt bike when he hit the center divider at 35 mph, while wearing a regular bike helmet instead of a motorcycle helmet. Never mind that he couldn’t legally ride the bike to begin with.

Thanks to David for forwarding more news about Porsche shutting down the carmaker’s four-year old ebike division, as well as software and vehicle infotainment subsidiaries, including the company’s store in Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza.

Tijuana is working with US Customs and Border Protection over a proposal to build a binational bike path connecting the Mexico city with Imperial Beach.

Bad news from San Luis Obispo, where a 12-year old ebike rider was flown to a trauma center after being struck by a driver last week, and is in stable condition following several surgeries; the kid was not wearing the bike helmet required under state law. A photo shows what appears to be a crumpled ped-assist ebike in the middle of the street. Or at least it had pedals, anyway. 

Good question. A local San Francisco website examines the candidates for the city’s 2nd Supervisor District, asking them “Where should bike lanes go?”.

 

National

AARP reports that head injuries are rising among older people, corresponding with the use of shared ebikes, e-scooters and bicycles. Although they should know that correlation does not imply causation. 

Today is Bike Everywhere Day in Seattle. Or as it’s known in Los Angeles, Wednesday. 

A pair of East Idaho motorcycle clubs are giving away a trailer-full of kid’s bikes on a first come, first served basis.

Wisconsin is planning to announce a 900-mile gravel bike network next month,  taking advantage of existing farm roads and trails paved with the state’s red granite.

Bike to Work Week is taking on added meaning in West Michigan this year, as gas prices make driving more expensive, while rising gas prices have driven some drivers in New Haven, Connecticut into trading their cars for bicycles.

 

International

Police in the UK found the body of a man in a ditch, five days after the 62-year old father was reported missing; police are still looking for his missing bicycle.

A council member in Gqeberha, South Africa warned bicyclists to be vigilant and not ride alone on the beachfront, following violent attacks by thieves; however, police were unable to confirm the reports. Bonus points if you can pronounce the city’s name without looking it up, because I sure as hell couldn’t. 

Heartbreaking news from India, where a woman’s family carried her body to the police station on the back of a bicycle, her bare feet dangling from a shroud, as they allege police failed to arrest the suspect in her murder after she clashed with neighbors over a construction project; her sister-in-law was also hospitalized with serious injuries.

 

Competitive Cycling

Members of the Canadian women’s track squad are reportedly indignant over the decision not to compete in the women’s team pursuit at this fall’s Track World Championships in Shanghai, China, or qualifying for the ’28 LA Olympics, describing it as “gut wrenching and infuriating.”

Italian cyclist Giulio Ciccone took the leader’s maglia rosa in the Giro, aka pink jersey, “if only for a day or a night.”

Don’t bother booking your reservations for the women’s Tour de Romandie in Switzerland this month, after the race was cancelled due to a lack of sponsors and “event overload.” Whatever the hell that means.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you have to steal your own bike back. Mr. Loophole says bike riders should wear helmets, just like drivers do.

And why ride a bike when you can play it?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Daily News endorses Kenneth Mejia, LAPD busts Playa road rage suspect, and sign LA traffic violence state of emergency

May 7, 2026 / / Comments Off on Daily News endorses Kenneth Mejia, LAPD busts Playa road rage suspect, and sign LA traffic violence state of emergency

Before we get going, I had the misfortune of watching yesterday’s gubernatorial debate.

To quote Doonesbury, back when it was still funny, it had “all the subtle dynamics of a grade school recess.”

Six of the candidates kept insulting and shouting over one another, while Katie Porter asked people over and over not to interrupt her, which they continued to do.

If you listened to the only two Republicans on the dais, you’d be left with the assumption that Democrats were responsible for all the state’s problems, and if you just elect one of them, everything will be sunshine and puppies forever.

Personally, I thought former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa came off best, although with this group, that’s such a low bar he could have tripped over it walking off the stage. But his chances of winning are somewhere south of a snowball in hell. 

My main takeaway when the whole damn thing was over was wondering if it was too late to get someone else.

Which it is.

I’d give you my take on the Los Angeles mayoral debate that proceeded it, but I fell asleep shortly after it began.

But considering the bickering that it began with, that would probably have been my take, anyway.

Photo of Kenneth Mejia and his corgis from Abundant Housing LA.

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On a related subject, the conservative Los Angeles Daily News surprisingly endorsed bicyclist and corgi dad Kenneth Mejia for re-election as City Controller.

That comes despite a $1.5 million campaign from opponent Zach Sokoloff aiming to oust him, which is funded by Sokoloff’s mother.

Yes, his mommy is paying for the whole thing.

But the Daily News evidently doesn’t want you to know about it, because even their own opinions are hidden behind the paper’s draconian paywall.

You’d think if they really wanted people to vote for Mejia, they’d want everyone to read it.

But you would be wrong.

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Looks like they got him.

The LAPD made an arrest in the Monday morning Play del Rey hit-and-run that killed a one-year old boy and a 27-year old man on Vista del Mar, aka Deadly del Mar, as they were driving home after a night at the beach.

Twenty-seven-year old Osvaldo Sandoval died at the scene, while his 14-month old nephew Roger Sandoval died after being taken to a hospital; Osvaldo’s 15-year old sister, and Roger’s aunt, remains on life-support at UCLA Medical Center.

To make matters worse, Oscar Sandoval, the driver of the car and the father of one-year old Roger, believes the crash was an intentional act of road rage.

According to KTLA-5,

Oscar Sandoval survived the crash and said he believes it may have been intentional. Family members also told KTLA’s Rick Chambers that the driver of the white Jeep had been flashing his lights and trying to cut them off moments before the collision.

“The Jeep hit my door where my son and brother were sitting, the ones who took the strongest impact,” Oscar said in Spanish. “My son was still alive, but barely.”

Police confirmed a suspect was arrested yesterday morning, but only identified the him as a Hispanic male.

If this was an intentional act, let’s hope prosecutors charge him with two counts of felony murder.

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If you haven’t yet, sign your name, business or organization to the open letter urging city leaders to declare a state of emergency over traffic violence, sponsored by People’s Vision Zero and Streets Are For Everyone.

Because traffic injuries and deaths continue to be out of control, over ten years after former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the city’s Vision Zero plan — and more than a year after it officially failed.

If you belong to an advocacy group, get them to sign it. If you belong to a bike club, sign for the club and ask members to sign individually. If you own or work for a bike shop or in the bike industry, do the same.

Add your name.

The letter will be released soon. So do it today.

Declare a State of Emergency in LA Due to Traffic Violence

Traffic Violence in Los Angeles is OUT OF CONTROL!

The City of Los Angeles has not been taking traffic violence and the public health crisis that is, seriously.

In 2015, the city committed to Vision Zero – its plan to end traffic violence by 2025. In 2025, traffic fatalities were reported by LAPD to be 290, 56% higher than in 2015.

For the past three years there have been more traffic fatalities than homicides.

An audit directed by the Los Angeles City Council found that Vision Zero failed – and thousands of people died – because of a lack of political will and poor coordination between city departments.

Traffic violence is the leading cause of death for children ages 4-14 in LA County.

Between 31 January and 5 February 2026, there were two mass traffic fatality events, resulting in 5 people killed and 7 others seriously injured.

The City of Los Angeles was about to return 100 million dollars in road safety funding to the State of California because it didn’t have the manpower to use the money.

What We’re Asking You to Do

Sign onto an open letter we will be releasing to the media and sending to the LA Mayor and City Council, demanding that they declare a State of Emergency due to traffic violence and treat it as the public health crisis that it is.

The full letter is on this page. Please spread this around to as many people as possible. Thank you!

Jonathan Hale — People’s Vision Zero
&
Damian Kevitt — Streets Are For Everyone

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This puts the horrible state of LA’s roads in perspective.

Although Mr. Smith somehow seems to think it’s a “gotcha” that Streets For All is a PAC, which they’re very open about, and that progressives tend to support safer streets that serve all road users, unlike their more conservative brethren.

Shocking, I know.

Twitter post

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Here’s a couple more posts from one of my favorite Bluesky accounts.

I confess, I never knew that Keith Haring rode a bicycle, let alone drew one. And ’60s bike advertising is just effing cool.

https://bsky.app/profile/coolbikeart1.bsky.social/post/3ml2e6oqdn22t

Bluesky post

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Nice story from San Diego, where a team of engineering students designed a pedal extension that allows a Marine vet to ride a bicycle for the first time since 2003, when an explosion shattered his leg while he was deployed to Iraq.

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

No bias here. When residents of the Scottish Isle of Cumbrae complained about drivers “speeding away from the ferry terminal and ‘pelting’ around corners towards oncoming traffic,” the local cops naturally responded by admonishing bicyclists, including toddlers on balance bikes.

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Local 

Writing for Torched, the great Alissa Walker had a different, and more positive, take from mine yesterday about Mayor Karen Bass’ Capital Infrastructure Program for the City of Los Angeles, though we’re both in agreement that it was long-overdue.

Metro will offer free rides across the their system, including buses, trains and the Metro Bike bikeshare all weekend to celebrate the three-stop extension of the D, aka Purple, Line subway. Although it still won’t go far enough for my wife to take the train to work. 

Secret Los Angeles writes that Los Angeles will shut down four miles of streets next month when CicLAvia connects Exposition Park and Leimert Park, which is hardly a secret.

The LAPD reminds drivers to share the road during Bike Safety Month. The other eleven months, it’s as you were, apparently. 

 

State

San José Spotlight gently breaks the news that construction on a local street is due to a bike lane project. And yes, I take great pride in including the diacritical in the website’s name.

Oakland skips the work requirement, and celebrates next Thursday as Bike Anywhere Day, instead of Bike to Work Day. Or as it’s known in Los Angeles these days, Thursday. 

A Marin County serial ebike thief was arrested after he was caught using a rented Amazon truck to make reverse deliveries.

The family of a UC Davis student who was killed riding a bike on campus last month are calling for protected bike lanes to be installed in his honor.

 

National

A writer for Bike Mag opens up about how bicycling saved his mental health, forcing him to slow down and breathe following his diagnosis of ACHD.

It’s now illegal to block a bike lane anywhere in Colorado. California, not so much. 

Jefferson City, Missouri, population 43,000, adopts the “Idaho Stop Laws,” allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, and stoplights as stop signs.

Rock Island, Illinois is celebrating a colorful new bicycling sculpture in memory of a long-time local bicyclist, who rode a custom-built bike without a saddle, which is replicated in the sculpture. If anyone designs a sculpture in my honor after I depart this mortal coil, put a damn saddle on it.

Tennessee titanium frame maker Lynskey Performance Products, LLC, is just the latest company in the bicycle industry to go belly-up, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in hopes of reorganizing after a disastrous move to Shopify.

Massachusetts approves a new four tiered system defining bicycles and ebikes by their speed, with traditional bicycles, Class 1 and Class 2 ebikes, low-speed scooters and mobility devices in the new Class 0, up to Speed Tier 3 covering anything above 40 mph.

Bike advocates in Saratoga Springs NY are complaining that the city is ignoring its Complete Streets plan as it repaves streets, despite an ostensible commitment to improving its multimodal infrastructure. Something people in a certain Southern California megalopolis can probably relate to.

Okay, now he’s just rubbing it in. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn to take part in a bike bus to announce plans for two new bike boulevards. I’m not sure if LA Mayor Bass knows what a bike bus is, let alone has ever ridden one.

Alexandria, Virginia and the DC region will offer giveaways and prizes to encourage people to bike to work next week. Los Angeles, not so much.

Atlanta will celebrate the week-long Atlanta Cycling Festival next week, including Spoke & Word, a two-day “progressive dinner” combining bicycling and storytelling.

 

International

Momentum highlights Canada’s most bike-friendly cities, in case anyone wants to flee north of the border, where things seem a little saner these days.

Speaking of draconian paywalls, that’s the reason I don’t link to the BBC anymore.

A Deutschland magazine looks back on those heady days of National Socialism, when bike races were just another form of Nazi propaganda.

You can now bring your bicycle on China’s high-speed Beijing to Zhangjiakou train line, although it’s limited to stops between Beijing North and Chongli.

 

Competitive Cycling

Britain’s longest‑running, biggest and most prestigious single-day and somewhat cobbled road race marks its 70th Anniversary on Sunday.

Road.cc answers the question of what pro cyclists do after they retire, profiling seven former racers who now work in professions as diverse as firefighter, banker and sommelier — including America’s one-time ex-Tour de France champ-cum-CBD maven.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you’re stopped for illegally impeding traffic in a teeny, tiny little car, and people want to know how many clowns were inside. Or when you pedal across the country to spell out “kindness,” while inviting strangers to ride along.

And now you, too, can have a MagSafe dock in the shape of the world’s ugliest truck.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

New round of ebike vouchers for SGV, bike lane tames(?) deadly Griffith Park road, and Bike Month cometh

April 30, 2026 / / Comments Off on New round of ebike vouchers for SGV, bike lane tames(?) deadly Griffith Park road, and Bike Month cometh

Good news for the San Gabriel Valley.

The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments is teaming with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), Active SGV and the California Transportation Commission to open up a second round of funding for ebike vouchers.

But only for income-eligible residents of the SGV, over the age of 18.

The groups are providing around 475 vouchers that can be redeemed for $2,000 off the purchase of an e-cargo bike worth $1,600 to $2,500.

Image by Cely_ for Pixabay.

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A Redditor shares photos of the new and improved Crystal Springs Drive/Zoo Drive through Griffith Park.

The former, where 77-year old bicyclist Andrew Jelmert lost his life; the latter, where Finish the Ride/Streets Are For Everyone founder Damian Kevitt lost his leg, and nearly his life, when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike, and dragged onto the nearby 5 Freeway in 2013.

Reddit post

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Cycling West offers a remarkable list of Bike Month events in Utah, and cities across the West, including San Francisco and the East Bay.

Needless to say, Los Angeles isn’t even mentioned.

Then again, even Geneva’s CERN lab, home to the Large Hadron Collider, is hosting a Bike to Work challenge, while Ireland host a nine-day National Bike Week.

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How to find great food in Los Angeles without having to set a tire on the streets.

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

A man’s family remembers him after he was intentionally killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike in a St. Louis alley, then pushed into a garage to hide his body; police arrested the suspect at his home as he was hiding under a bed.

Wish I knew what this one is about. An Australian paper reports a knife-wielding woman was arrested at gunpoint after chasing a bike rider — but the story is hidden behind a paywall, like most Aussie papers.

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Local 

UCLA student newspaper Daily Bruin writes about Sunday’s West LA CicLAvia, the 65th open streets event staged by the organization — and connects the story to CicLAvia Executive Director Romel Pascual, a graduate of the university.

The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued a mountain biker from Mulholland Drive Tuesday evening, airlifting the man to a hospital after he suffered severe injuries to his lower body. Let’s hope he has a full and fast recovery, because that doesn’t sound good.

 

State

A crowdfunding campaign has raised over $700 of the $900 goal to buy a new ebike for an 81-year old El Cajon jokester, who has gained internet fame in a series of viral videos, after the ebike he relied on for transportation was stolen.  Which is a damn good reminder that ebikes can provide mobility people long after they stop driving. And for those who should. 

Encinitas will open the Coast Highway 101 to bikes and pedestrians with the Cyclovia Encinitas open streets events from 10 am to 2 pm on Sunday, May 17.

Advocates are pushing for safety improvements on a dangerous roadway, after a UC Davis student was killed riding her bike.

 

National

They get it. The American Bicycling Education Association calls on the AP to add a section on ebikes to its industry-standard AP Style Book, defining an ebike as having fully operable pedals and an electric motor of 750 watts or less, as well as limited speeds (typically 20–28 mph), suggesting electric motorcycle, electric dirt bike or off-highway electric vehicle for bikes that don’t meet that definition.

Seattle bike commuters outpaced the rest of the US by riding more than 3.3 million miles last year, according to Strava, followed by Chicago with 2.5 million miles, and Minneapolis-St. Paul’s 1.7 million miles. But if that Strava list is posted online, I can’t find it. 

A 27-year old Texas man faces a manslaughter charge for killing a man riding a bicycle while driving distracted last November; he drove through a stop sign while busy trying to pair his phone with the new truck he just bought.

A Texas flood control district destroyed a DIY offroad bike park, despite allowing it to remain for years after it was illegally built, after negotiations with bicyclists to save it failed.

Seven MIT students are biking 4,000 miles across the US, from DC to San Francisco, stopping along the way to hold STEM workshops for children in rural communities.

New York’s iconic 5 Boro Bike Tour rolls this weekend, bringing 32,000 bike riders onto a closed course traversing the entire city.

 

International

Nice story from Cuba, where a family got back the items that were stolen in a burglary after police arrested the thieves, including a bicycle that had belonged to a daughter who had died 18 years before.

An English Green Party candidate says the potholes on the local roads are so bad, they forced his kids to stop riding their bikes.

A Jesuit website tells the story of a Catholic priest who chose martyrdom over safety, riding his bicycle from his missionary parish in India to a nearby village to confront a Hindu mob attacking their Muslim neighbors; he stood in front of the mob demanding an end to the violence, only to be killed himself.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you use training wheels to get back on your bike after a major TBI, as your husband walks next to you playing Eye of the Tiger. Or when you have to add Queens to your mountain bike bucket list.

And that feeling when Santa Monica is the apparent epicenter of the vegan Crossfit cycling community.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Suspect vehicle ID’d in Jefferson Park hit-and-run, Twenty-Eight for ’28 now 1 for 18, and killer driver drags bike rider a mile

April 29, 2026 / / Comments Off on Suspect vehicle ID’d in Jefferson Park hit-and-run, Twenty-Eight for ’28 now 1 for 18, and killer driver drags bike rider a mile

The LAPD is now looking for the owner of a dark-colored Jeep Wrangler in the hit-and-run death of a 38-year old man riding an ebike in Jefferson Park late Saturday night.

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

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Officer Diaz or Sergeant Nily at 323/421-2577, 1-877/527-3247 after business hours and weekends. Or anonymously at 1-800/222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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This should surprise absolutely no one who has been paying attention for the past several years.

Things are not looking good for the completion of the vaunted Twenty-eight by ’28 projects that we were promised would be finished in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Even after the list was dumbed down by removing the hard stuff, like finishing the LA River Bike Path through DTLA and Vernon.

Twitter post

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It’s happened once again.

A man in Louisville, Kentucky was killed when a hit-and-run driver dragged him nearly a mile under his car, after hitting the vicim and his wife as they rode their bikes.

The driver eventually stopped and called the police, but only after being chased down by a witness, who apparently stopped to pick up the victim’s wife after she had been knocked in a ditch.

Local residents have called for safety improvements following multiple hit-and-runs on the roadway, where speeding is common.

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CicLAvia urges support for open streets events included in the proposed LA city budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Twitter post

Speaking of which, as promised, and at long last, here are the photos David forwarded from Sunday’s West LA CicLAvia, where I’m told a good time was had by nearly all.

All photos by David Drexler

As an added bonus, he also sent along a reminder why you don’t park under a palm tree on a windy day, spotted outside a Porsche dealership along the route.

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This is who we share the road with.

Twitter post

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Thanks to Megan for forwarding video of the bicyclist who inspired Breaking Away looking back on his victory in the Little 500.

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Local 

Finish the Ride and Finish the Run will take place in Griffith Park this weekend to call for safer streets and honor the victims of traffic violence; the events will take on added poignancy as Caitlin Cole, the sister of fallen bicyclist Regan Cole Graham — who was seven months pregnant with her daughter Ophelia when they were both killed in Playa del Rey — will ride Regan’s bike to complete the ride they never finished.

 

State

You can now ride the full length of California’s iconic coastline highway from San Francisco to LA once again.

Electrek takes a hard look at the $1 billion valuation for Irvine-based Rivian’s new ALSO ebike startup before a single bike has been sold, arguing that we’ve seen this before with brands like VanMoof and Cake ending up in bankruptcy court.

There’s a special place in hell for anyone who could leave an injured child on the side of the road after a crash, like the older woman in a black Mercedes who stopped briefly after hitting an eight-year old kid riding a bicycle in Novato, then just drove off without helping the victim; fortunately, the child only suffered minor injuries.

Over 100 people turned out in Oakland for a ride to celebrate East Bay bike trails, while offering a reminder that bicyclists can still only go halfway across the Oakland Bay Bridge.

Bad news from East Oakland, where a 38-year old man was in grave condition after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle Monday night; police are looking for the owner of a black Land Rover who just kept going without stopping after striking the victim, who is believed to be homeless. Unfortunately, you’ll have to find a way around the paper’s paywall to read the story. 

 

National

A writer for Outside recommends things that will help make your life on the bike easier, based on his 20 years as a bike commuter.

Streetsblog talks with Josh Naramore of the National Association of City Transportation Officials about how cities can get ready for the robo-taxi revolution, arguing that it can be done without losing momentum on building livable streets for people outside of cars, too, if it’s done right.

Jonathan Maus, the editor of Bike Portland, is stepping back from the daily grind of writing one of the nation’s most popular and successful local bike blogs, asking readers what they want from the site as he moves forward.

A Georgia public radio station discusses how bike boulevards have improved life in Henrietta, after a successful fight by bike advocates.

 

International

A writer for Bikepacker makes his yearly pilgrimage to “the epic and wild Vuelta de Citlaltépetl,” circumventing Mexico’s highest peak on a mountain bike and trailer.

Must be nice. Bicyclists in the Netherlands can now install an app on their phones to give them quicker green lights at traffic signals.

 

Competitive Cycling

The USA Mountain Bike National Championships will once again be held in Roanoke, Virginia, in a repeat of last year’s races.

Evidently, Tadej Pogačar is a weight weenie, choosing weight savings over aerodynamics for his new time trial bike.

Britain’s Ineos Grenadiers Cycling Team will will have a new name and team colors for next month’s Giro d’Italia; they will now be known as the Netcompany Ineos Cycling Team after signing the AI company to a five-year sponsorship agreement.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can submit your original books and bikes artwork for people to drive over.

And if the seat’s buzzing, maybe think twice about getting on.

Just saying.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Update: Man riding ebike killed by hit-and-run driver in LA’s Jefferson Park neighborhood; 8th SoCal bike rider killed in hit-and-run this year

April 27, 2026 / / Comments Off on Update: Man riding ebike killed by hit-and-run driver in LA’s Jefferson Park neighborhood; 8th SoCal bike rider killed in hit-and-run this year

Another day, another person killed riding an ebike in Southern California.

This time in Los Angeles.

And this time in a hit-and-run.

Just hours after a 13-year old boy was killed by was killed by an Amtrak train in Simi Valley, a man was killed by a driver in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

According to KTLA-5, which is currently the only outlet reporting on the crash, the victim was struck while riding near 36th Street and 5th Ave around 11 pm Saturday night.

The victim, described only as a man around 48-years old, was thrown onto a parked car with enough force to cause significant damage to the rear of the car.

He died at the scene.

The driver fled following the crash. No arrest has been made, and there is currently no description of the suspect vehicle.

There is also no word on how the crash occurred, or where the victim and the driver were located in relation to the intersection.

We also don’t know at this time what kind of ebike the victim was riding; whether it was a Class 1, 2 or 3 ebike, or an e-motorbike or electric dirt bike. An earlier report describes the bike as a motorized or motorbike, but that description was removed from the later update.

The earlier report also describes the victim as 38-years old.

This the 28th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the tenth in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fifth we know about in the City of Los Angeles.

Eight of those deaths have involved hit-and-run drivers.

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

Update: The victim has been identified only as a 38-year old man, pending notification of next-of-kin, while police are now looking for the owner of a dark-colored Jeep Wrangler, no model year given. 

Anyone with information is urged to call Officer Diaz and Sergeant Nily at 323/421-2577, or 1-877/527-3247 during non-business hours. Or call anonymously at 1-800/222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.

Update 2: The victim has been identified as 37-year old Melvin Salgado, no city of residence given.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Melvin Salgado and all his loved ones.

 

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

CA Post: Los Angeles is a liberal hell, a call for reasonable ebike legislation, and man dies after Long Beach hit-and-run

April 17, 2026 / / Comments Off on CA Post: Los Angeles is a liberal hell, a call for reasonable ebike legislation, and man dies after Long Beach hit-and-run

Apparently, life in Los Angeles and California is a living hell.

According to the New York, uh, California Post,

In LA and California, the cost of living is stifling. Traffic is suffocating. The public schools are ill-serving kids.

And state and local government, from the governor and legislature on down to the mayor, city council and school board, are out to lunch…

But the bottom line is this: Government at all levels is failing to lead, course-correct, and address –– with even minimal efficacy –– a range of issues that increasingly degrade life here.

In fact, elected officials, driven by cronyism, interest-group pressure and out-of-touch far-left ideology, mostly make the crises worse.

Look, I’m no fan of our current city leaders, but life here ain’t all that bad.

It just could be a lot better.

And something tells me, we might not agree on who the special interests are. Never mind what “far-left” ideologies are just practical solutions that we haven’t been tried yet.

Like building more bike lanes and providing safe, practical alternatives to driving, rather than doubling down on the same things that got us in this mess.

Liberal hellfire and damnation — or maybe just fire — photo by Sergey Meshkov from Pexels.

………

Calbike wants you to contact your state legislators to call for reasonable regulation of ebikes that doesn’t blame them all for the problems caused by e-motos.

California lawmakers are right to be concerned about the spread of high-powered electric devices marketed as e-bikes. There is some truth behind the now-familiar image of 12-year-olds doing wheelies through suburban streets on machines far more powerful than a legal electric bicycle. But too many of this year’s bills respond to that concern by going after the wrong target, and they will not deliver the results anyone actually wants. Instead of drawing a clear line between legal e-bikes and illegal e-motos, these proposals blur it further. They add burdens to the bikes people actually rely on, while failing to directly address the devices creating the confusion in the first place.

California needs to protect the promise of e-bikes, not let the e-moto backlash distort the law. In this century, e-bikes have been one of the most important transportation success stories in the state. They help people replace car trips. They expand access to biking for older adults, working families, and people who might not otherwise ride in hilly terrain. They make biking more practical for longer distances, hills, errands, school dropoff, and everyday life. In a state that talks constantly about climate, congestion, affordability, and mobility, e-bikes should be an obvious part of the solution, and under settled California law, they already are.

It’s worth checking out.

And taking just a few moments to voice your support.

Meanwhile, the North Torrance Bike Bus clearly explains the differences between a legal ebike, and an illegal e-moto.

………

This is who we share the road with.

Fifty-seven-year old Montebello resident Ronald Sera died Wednesday, nearly two months after he was run down by a hit-and-run driver in Long Beach.

Sera was found by police around 1:05 am on Saturday, February 28, near Redondo Ave and Anaheim Street.

Investigators still don’t have a suspect, but describe the vehicle as a Toyota Previa van that sped away west on Anaheim.

Anyone with information is urged to call LBPD Collision Investigation Detail Detective David Doughtery at 562/570-7355, or anonymously through LA Crime Stoppers at 800/222-TIPS (8477) or LACrimeStoppers.org.

………

Streets Are For Everyone is joining with CD4 to call for help cleaning up the Forest Lawn Drive bike lanes on Saturday, April 25th ahead of this year’s Finish the Ride in Griffith Park (and good luck to Kayla as she competes in Hong Kong). For some reason, I can’t embed Instagram Reels, so you’ll have to click on the link.

SAFE is also celebrating the re-opening of the Marvin Braude Bike Trail in Pacific Palisades after it was washed out by last year’s storms, as well as progress on bike lanes in Griffith Park.

Instagram post

Finally, SAFE and Finish the Ride are bringing back the city’s much loved and lamented LA River Ride on May 3rd. And yes, it will still contain that confusing stretch south of DTLA where the bike path hasn’t been completed, and probably won’t be for some time.

Instagram post

………

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton visits Santa Monica’s MANGo.

………

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talks healthcare while vlogging from her bike seat.

Thanks to Megan for forwarding the video.

………

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

British bicyclists may be in for a surprise, after an English city finally got around to installing flexible wands to keep drivers from illegally parking in a bike lane. Which if Los Angeles drivers are any example, won’t actually stop anyone.

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

No bias here. London police ticketed 1,315 bike riders for jumping red lights in the past 12 months, an average of around just 25 a week — which doesn’t sound like that much in a city of 9.9 million. Especially compared to the approximately 4,000 drivers ticketed for the same offense, including over 1,500 caught two or more times in the past four years.

………

Local 

Nice piece from LA Times Deputy Managing Editor Shelby Grad, who pens a paean to the joys of ebiking on the bikeways under the city’s overpasses, rather than driving over them.

The Pasadena City Council unanimously approved plans for the 710 Freeway stub, including housing and multimodal transportation initiatives, but wants to talk more about restorative justice for the mostly Black residents who were unceremoniously shoved out to make room for the never-built freeway.

Santa Monica Next reports on the problem of overhanging tree branches blocking the city’s bike lanes.

 

State

La Mesa became the latest California city to crackdown on ebikes, banning children under 12 from riding Class 1 or 2 electric bicycles.

Streetsblog points out that San Diego’s Mayor Gloria’s new budget cuts funding for the multimodal team at the city’s Department of Transportation, despite his promises to maintain funding for Vision Zero “even in a difficult budget year” when running for re-election just two years ago.

The victim who died riding an ebike in Point Mugu State Park on Saturday has been identified as a 76-year old Camarillo resident, who passed away from natural causes.

Bike East Bay is celebrating Bike To Wherever Day on May 14th. Or as it’s known in Los Angeles these days, Thursday. 

 

National

The Cherokee Nation announced the 12 participants in this year’s 950-mile Remember the Removal bike tour, which retraces the northern route of the infamous Trail of Tears.

A Colorado bike race requires you to eat at ten Taco Bells along the route. The winner is whoever packed a peck of Pepto in their kit. 

This is who we share the road with, too. Police is Sioux Falls, South Dakota threw the book at two young pickup drivers who were reported driving recklessly, doing burnouts 5 feet away from patios, committing traffic sign violations and putting pedestrians at risk, all while blaring their loud “train-style” horns.

A Waco, Texas woman was busted for allowing her son to skitch by holding the door handle of her car while riding his bike — although it didn’t help when they found almost two ounces of weed in her car.

Louisville, Kentucky has painted new downtown bike lanes a bright shade of neon green, not to keep drivers out, but to make them more obvious to pedestrians, who were falling off the curbs. Evidently, they don’t film many movies or TV shows there, because that looks like the same shade Hollywood producers went to war against here in Los Angeles. 

A new report from New York’s Transportation Alternatives shows an ongoing gender bias in bicycling, revealing women are more likely to ride where there are protected bike lanes and pathways.

Shockingly, business owners have “concerns” over a proposed new bike lane on a New York thoroughfare. In other words, kinda like every business owner everywhere when new bike lanes go in. Never mind that studies show their business is usually better within a few months afterwards.

 

International

A Canadian bike polo player funds a short film about the sport by recycling cans, using an old video camera he found in a back alley.

A London bike rider says he never got so much room on the road before he switched to riding a Lime bike without a helmet.

A Dublin, Ireland waste management company is using e-cargo bikes — or maybe pedal-operated mini box trucks — to collect trash after the city banned putting trash bags on the street.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list — seven days of bikepacking through four of the Canary Islands.

A Palestinian group is using bicycling to bring residents from disparate parts of the war-ravaged country together to rediscover and reclaim the land.

The European Union ambassador to Ghana is riding with a team nearly 500 miles from Tamale to Accra to encourage more people in the country to ride bicycles.

Oopsie. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said recently that just 1,700 people use a new bikeway each day; that turned out to be the number of people who use the new showers at the end of the path, compared to 7,000 people who used the actual pathway in just a four-hour window.

 

Finally…

Nothing like riding through the fields of rural Transylvania, as long as you bless your hotel room with a little garlic and holy water. That feeling when the guy documenting his “avid” bicycle journeys made his bones with an 80s cover of Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.

Or when you rewatch the Hunger Games just to see the road-raging bike rider/actor who shot at your truck.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Strike one in Linton’s Measure HLA lawsuit, and driver charged in Long Beach hit-and-run death of Lori Ann Carreon

April 16, 2026 / / Comments Off on Strike one in Linton’s Measure HLA lawsuit, and driver charged in Long Beach hit-and-run death of Lori Ann Carreon

Sorry for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

I was pretty out of it from the effects of my meds Tuesday night — don’t even ask me how many tranquilizing pharmaceutical I take on a daily basis — and facing an early medical appointment yesterday. 

So like Brave Sir Robin, I bravely gave up and ran away to get some sleep. 

I’m just glad I’m not driving these days. And so is everyone else, whether or not they know it. 

Today’s photo is a bike coral outside a building on 3rd Street in West Hollywood.

And while I appreciate the gesture, the racks are so close to the building they’re virtually useless, allowing you to lock up the wheel of your choice, while thieves make off with the rest of your bike. 

………

Christopher Bryant was formally arraigned for the hit-and-run death of 54-year old occupational therapist Lori Ann Carreon as she rode bike back to her home in Long Beach’s Bluff Park neighborhood.

The 40-year old Bryant was charged with felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, hit-and-run resulting in death and reckless driving.

Prosecutors allege he ran a stop sign at Second Street and Redondo Avenue on Feb. 7, then sped away without stopping. Bryant turned himself in three days later, after calling the police dispatcher the next day to confess, giving himself plenty of time to sober up.

If he was under the influence, that is, which he hasn’t been accused of.

Bryant was released on a mere $50,000 bond. Once again demonstrating just how un-seriously the courts take traffic crime.

………

That’s strike one in Joe Linton’s lawsuit against Metro and Los Angeles, alleging the transit agency violated Measure HLA by leaving out the bike lanes promised under the mobility plan from the semi-Complete Street makeover of the Vermont Ave corridor.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled against the administrative portion of Linton’s three-part lawsuit, dismissing the allegation that the city’s HLA ordinance undermines HLA as passed by voters.

However, that still leaves the main part of his suit standing, alleging that Past Vermont Avenue service road resurfacing should have triggered HLA, and that future Vermont Avenue bus (BRT) improvements should trigger HLA.

Here is how he explains it.

Chunks 1 and 2, if I win, will result in on-the-ground changes on Vermont Avenue. Chunk 3 is basically about the city’s ordinance (approved in 2025) that specifies the internal processes to administer HLA: who can appeal, when, how. When HLA was approved by voters it did not specify a deadline for when an individual could file an HLA lawsuit against the city, so people effectively had three years to file a lawsuit when a city project appears to not comply with HLA. Under the ordinance, people now have 30 days to file a city-level appeal, then if that appeal is denied (to date the city Board of Public Works has fully denied 22 of 24 appeals, and partially approved just two – conceding HLA was triggered but denying new bike and walk infrastructure), the appellant has only six months to file a lawsuit.

The city ordinance restricts HLA lawsuits; only people who appeal a project in the first 30 days can file a lawsuit later.

If the whole damn thing is hard to understand, I think that’s part of the point. The city process was written to make it hard to file an appeal, and even harder to file a lawsuit under the city’s interpretation of the measure.

So let’s all give Linton a round of thanks for undertaking this process, and fighting a process that most of us can’t even understand.

Or maybe it’s just me.

………

A winded Cincinnati cop tries, and fails, to catch a scofflaw on a bicycle, in a battle royal caught on video.

………

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

San Diego’s mayor suggested balancing the budget on the backs of bike riders, cutting a number of proposed bike projects to address the city’s red ink.

A British letter writer calls for license plates and charging “road tax” — which no longer exists in the country — to “either moronic, uncaring or uneducated cyclists.” So if you don’t fit in any of those categories, carry on, evidently.

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

You’ve got to be kidding. A Florida woman was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for throwing a couple beer bottles at a toddler who kindly came over to check on her after she fell off her bike; she told sheriff’s deputies that she thought she was being attacked. Yes, by a toddler.

A Polish bike thief tried to make his getaway by joining a breakaway, attempting to escape the cops by blending in with the peloton in a local bike race — then standing out by catching, and briefly joining, the leaders.

………

Local 

Los Angeles is considering a ban on ebikes on all equestrian, hiking and recreational trails, allowing them only on paths specifically intended for bicycling. And as usual, they seem to be lumping all ebikes together, from ped-assist bicycles to illegal dirt bikes.

West Hollywood Sheriff’s deputies will conduct a bicycle and pedestrian traffic safety operation from 5 am to 3 pm on Monday, ticketing any violation that could put anyone in either group at risk, regardless of who commits it. Which is the definition of a legal traffic operation, without biased enforcement. 

You may not be able to ride a bike with LA’s ostensibly bike-riding mayor, but Saturday you can ride with the mayor of Culver City to mark Earth Month.

A Portland, Oregon man is making a second attempt to complete a 1,320-mile ride down the Pacific Coast, five years after he was nearly killed by a Los Angeles driver, leaving him with a broken leg, shoulder, 10 broken ribs and punctured lungs; a crowdfunding campaign has raised less than $500 of the modest $1,300 goal to pay for expenses.

 

State

Calbike applauds California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s efforts to alert consumers to the difference between legal ebikes and faster, and somewhat less legal, e-motorbikes, but says now we need some actual enforcement.

A 14-year old boy was seriously injured when he was left-crossed by a driver in the Encanto area of San Diego, suffering a broken ankle, brain bleeds and other injuries. Although someone should tell San Diego’s Fox 5 News that a dirt bike is not a bicycle.

A 77-year old man was seriously injured when he fell off his ebike in San Diego’s Oak Park neighborhood, and struck his helmetless head on the pavement.

La Mesa will honor basketball Hall of Famer and noted bicyclist Bill Walton by naming an honorary street near his old high school after him. Because they certainly wouldn’t want to go to the trouble of actually renaming an actual street or anything. 

Fresno County residents turned in over 30,000 signatures to qualify the “Better Roads, Safe Streets” measure for the county ballot, which would increase the sales tax by half a percent, dedicating 65% to fixing local roads, 25% for public transit, 4% for innovative transportation and 5% to regional projects, including the Fresno airport; it would also commit to building 120 miles of bike lanes.

A San Francisco driver was caught on video pulling his Mercedes out from the curb cutting off a bike rider, then zooming to the corner and right-hooking a man riding a bicycle in the parking-protected bike lane — and then just keeps on going, leaving the victim lying in the street.

Scraper bikes are still a thing in Oakland. But apparently, only if you’re in Oakland.

Caltrans has lowered the speed limit from 55 mph to 45 mph on a five-mile stretch of PCH in Monterey County to improve safety. Which makes you wonder why they can’t do the same thing in Malibu, where the casualty count continues to rise. 

Sad news from ostensibly bike-friendly Davis, where a 20-year old UC Davis student was killed by a driver while riding his bicycle near campus.

 

National

Tune in, turn on and ride a “gorgeous” bike in honor of Albert Hoffman on Bicycle Day this Sunday.

Seattle will host an open streets event nearly every weekend this summer, banning cars from the city’s Lake Washington Blvd from Friday evening to Monday morning every weekend but one, from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

No, you don’t have to press the pedestrian button anymore at one Fayetteville, Arkansas intersection.

A Vanderbilt University survey shows that 71% of Nashville residents are in favor of more bike lanes.

Tragic news from Cape Cod, where an 86-year old man was killed by the driver of a box truck while riding a bicycle. Anyone still riding a bike at that age deserves better. Then again, so does anyone else. 

New York proposes a crosstown, river-to-rive protected bike lane, connecting key bikeways in Manhattan.

A New Orleans letter writer calls for curb-protected bike lanes to protect riders from dangerous drivers — and says people from outside the city can sue the city for more than $75,000 for dangerous roadway design if they’re injured biking on city streets, which could force the city to do something.

A Florida man is accused of driving over 80 mph with a BAC over twice the legal limit when he struck and killed a 31-year old man riding a bicycle last July; he faces a charge of DUI manslaughter.

 

International

This is who we share the road with. A 19-year old Ontario man offered a passenger in his truck $100,000 to lie for him, and claim they were behind the wheel when he killed someone on an ebike after drinking.

Almost 81,000 people went to the ER in the Netherlands due to bicycling crashes last year, up 25% from a decade ago.

A German writer gets pulled over in Switzerland for using his cellphone while riding and letting his nine-year old son ride a bike in the street, without actually ever getting pulled over.

Delhi, Dhaka and Accra, India are building bike lanes for the people they want to encourage to ride bicycles in wealthier areas, rather than protecting the low-income people who already do.

No more holding an umbrella while you ride in Japan, although it will only cost you the equivalent of 31 bucks.

South Australia’s top traffic cop is facing an internal police investigation for the crime of taking a selfie while riding on a suburban street, and posting it to his Strava account. Which is apparently a no-no Down Under. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-three-year old Spanish cyclist Jaume Guardeno remains in critical condition in intensive care, two weeks after he was struck by a driver while on a training ride following March’s Volta a Catalunya stage race; he had been on track to lead his Caja-Rural cycling team in the Tour de France.

Cycling scion Taylor Phinney may have been out of the game for a few years, but he’s planning to make a comeback in track cycling for the ’28 LA Olympics, aiming for team pursuit.

A 27-year old Utah special ed teacher has made the rare transition from Indiana University’s Little 500 to a wild card entry at this year’s Life Time Grand Prix series, starting with this week’s Sea Otter Classic gravel race.

 

Finally…

The surprising joys of getting ‘bent. Your next bike could be a Ralph Lauren — as long as you don’t mind riding downhill on level ground.

And now you, too, can have your very own slightly worn yellow jersey.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

California is #8 in bike/ped deaths and #1 in lawyer bikewashing, and pedestrian killed in intentional South LA hit-and-run

March 20, 2026 / / Comments Off on California is #8 in bike/ped deaths and #1 in lawyer bikewashing, and pedestrian killed in intentional South LA hit-and-run

We’re #8!

A new study from a law group shows that California recorded an average of 1,164 pedestrian and 153 bicyclist deaths per year over a five-year period between 2019 and 2023.

That ranks us eighth in the US on a per capita basis, behind perennial champion Florida.

Although yet another study from yet another law practice ranks Louisiana as the state where bicyclists face the greatest risk of getting killed on a bike and from bad roads.

By that standard, California ranks seventh.

None of which really proves anything, other than a) too many people die from traffic violence on California streets, b) we need more and better bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and c) law firm marketers think bikewashing is the best way to improve their search rankings.

And they’re probably right.

Which is why I linked to stories about their studies, rather than the actual studies. You can click through if you really want to.

………

This is who we share the road with.

The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver accused of using his car as a weapon to run down a 54-year old man walking in South LA, intentionally driving up on the sidewalk and striking the victim twice.

The man died after being taken to the hospital.

There’s no description of the driver or the suspect vehicle at this time. Although as always, there’s a standing $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver.

Even when it’s on purpose.

………

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

Adding insult to literal injury, a Louisiana bicyclist was ticketed for being at fault after the bike rider was struck by a state trooper in an unmarked car. Because somehow, cops never seem to be at fault when they hit someone on a bicycle, especially when they’re doing the investigating.

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

No bias here. Some New Yorkers are up in arms over Mayor Mamdani’s decision to stop criminally charging bicycle and ebike riders for traffic offenses — including the widow of a Gone Girl actress killed by an ebike rider — instead of giving them traffic tickets like people in what obviously must be much safer motor vehicles. Never mind that they continue to confuse ped-assist ebikes with electric motorbikes and dirt bikes.

………

Local 

Congratulations to Bike LA Executive Director Eli Kaufman on his speaking gig at next week’s National Bike Summit in Washington DC.

 

State

Someone please tell the Seal Beach Police Department that a Surron is not an electric bicycle, as the local weekly says there’s been some online debate over whether the kid who hit an elderly pedestrian was riding “an electric bike or an electric motorcycle.” Gee, ya think?

He gets it. An op-ed writer for the Voice of OC says investing in bike infrastructure pays dividends for all, noting he can get from Anaheim to Irvine faster on a bike than by car.

That’s more like it. About 30% of San Diego Door Dash deliveries are made by bicycle, ebikes or scooters, enabling workers to spend an average of around 15% less time from offer acceptance to pickup, while earning over 10% more per hour.

San Bernardino County’s latest extension of the Santa Ana River Trail was named the 2025 Inland Empire Branch Project of the Year, as well as the Southern California Chapter’s BEST (Building Excellence Shaping Tomorrow) project from the American Public Works Association.

A San Francisco website gets candidates for the city’s Board of Supervisors District 4 on the record for their stands on bicycling.

 

National

No bias here, either. A Seattle news radio program blames a new bike lane for costing $156 million and removing curbside parking, conveniently forgetting that most of the money is being used to build bus lanes.

Minnesota Governor and erstwhile vice presidential candidate Tim Walz made a visit to Angry Catfish Bicycle in Minneapolis, which sponsored the nationwide Unity Rides honoring fallen mountain biker and VA nurse Alex Pretti, murdered by ICE agents in January.

Residents of Downtown Miami are reportedly fed up with people parking in bike lanes, as well they should be, arguing that it’s a public safety hazard and enforcement is rare.

 

International

An Irishman was killed falling off his 30-year old bicycle, offering a tragic reminder not to ride when you’re three — no, make that four — sheets to the wind.

Speaking of biking under the influence, Japan suspended the driver’s licenses of 1,507 people for bicycling while legally drunk last year, up from just 23 the year before.

 

Finally…

Look, if you’re going to shoot someone over ten bucks, maybe try riding off on a plain colored bicycle. What self-respecting male reality TV star wouldn’t ride a tandem in lingerie and suspenders?

And that feeling when your bike seat falls off with 14 miles of cobbles left to go.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Murder grills designed to kill, Koreatown hit-and-run victim identified, and Monrovia releases daft, uh Draft, Safety Plan

March 19, 2026 / / 2 comments

I noticed that truck over there on the left while walking the dog yesterday.

And was struck by the truck’s murder grill — not literally, thankfully — which seems designed to inflict maximum damage on anyone or anything unfortunate enough to come into contact with it.

Any person struck by it, whether walking or bicycling, would likely be thrown forward as if struck by a giant hammer, then run over by the multi-ton truck if the driver was unable to stop in time.

Yet people wonder why traffic deaths continue to climb in the US, and not in other countries with more rational safety policies.

Never mind that there’s no license plate on the front of the damn thing.

………

The victim in last week’s fatal Koreatown hit-and-run has been identified as a 73-year old woman.

Although depending on what source you go by, the driver was either arrested after abandoning their car, or not.

Which means there’s either a standing $50,000 reward for the fatal hit-and-run, or there isn’t.

………

Monrovia is seeking comments on their new Draft Safety Action Plan and Bicycle Master Plan.

I don’t know the city well enough to offer any informed thoughts, but it looks to be heavy on Class 3 bike routes, aka sharrows, which are usually worthless for anything other than wayfinding, if not actually dangerous.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/2034350654290841827

………

Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette offers a short Facebook reminder to max out the Uninsured Driver coverage on your auto insurance policy, which will cover you on your bike if you crash, or get hit by a driver with no insurance or inadequate coverage.

The family of fallen Australian bicyclist James Rapley learned that the hard way, after the stoned driver who ran him down on Temescal Canyon in 2013 had no insurance or financial resources, leaving their lawyer unable to collect a dime, despite his efforts.

The opposite happened when I was struck by a road raging driver who refused to accept liability, and my own auto insurance covered every penny of my medical bills.

It was a painful lesson well learned.

Thanks to Phillip for the heads-up. 

………

A new short film from Shimano traces the rise of the inclusive All Bodies On Bikes group, with over 4,000 views in the first day.

………

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

An accused road-raging driver is set to go on trial in Spain for attempted murder after running over former world champ Alejandro Valverde and another rider during a 2022 training ride, following an argument over a close pass.

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

There’s a special place in hell for the 61-year old Florida man who was arrested for animal cruelty after allegedly beating and kicking a puppy, simply because it couldn’t keep up as he dragged it behind his bike, despite telling police he was “training” the dog. Maybe someone should tie him behind a bicycle and train him, instead. 

………

Local 

A Redittor raves about the San Gabriel River bike path after riding over 30 miles from Santa Fe Dam to Seal Beach, then back again, as commenters tell him hush before everyone finds out.

Riding the sharrows on Fountain Ave in West Hollywood could be even dicier than usual, as the city takes traffic signals offline to upgrade traffic signal controller cabinets, “to modernize traffic infrastructure and improve safety and reliability for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists.”

Speaking of WeHo, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will conduct yet another of the LA area’s bicycle and pedestrian safety operations on Monday, so ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line. Although people don’t seem to end up driving any better, no matter how many of those things they hold, or how often.

 

State

Apple Valley will install a roundabout, center turn lane and new Class 1 separated bike lanes to improve safety at a dangerous intersection.

They get it. A Streetsblog San Francisco op-ed says California has to stop expanding freeways, because “While transit, bike, and safety projects struggle for funding, the state keeps writing blank checks for freeway widening boondoggles. It’s time to tell our lawmakers: enough!” It’s long past time to stop flushing money down the induced demand-inducing toilet.

Sacramento is working on getting an action plan to reduce traffic deaths ready by the end of the year, in the city with the state’s highest per capita rate of traffic deaths.

 

National

A tiny new sensor raising funds on Kickstarter can now tell you the air pressure on your bike tires within ±2%.

Seattle is ripping out the curbs protecting a new bike lane after a “surveying error” left the traffic lane too narrow for trucks to navigate. Although that sounds like a good thing to me. 

Albuquerque, New Mexico will now require drivers to stop at crosswalks for bicyclists and pedestrians, and student drivers in the state will have to take a three-hour course on driving around vulnerable road users, after a mother turned her grief over the death of her bike-riding daughter into a campaign to improve safety for all of us.

Burlington, Vermont is now home to what may be the world’s first fully adaptive mountain bike trail network, allowing handicapped riders to take to the trails without fear of insurmountable obstacles.

New York Mayor Mamdani is calling a halt to the previous administration’s policy of giving criminal summons to scofflaw bike riders, rather than traffic tickets, for even minor violations; the policy was considered unfair to delivery riders who need their bikes to earn a living. Although it was also unfair to anyone on two wheels, who were treated more harshly than motorists, despite posing less risk to those around them. 

The Delaware-based Lycra Company, makers of Lycra, Coolmax, THERMOLITE, Supplex, and Tactel, is the latest bikewear-related firm to go belly-up, after the company couldn’t stretch to cover up to a half billion dollars in debts.

A 72-year old North Carolina woman had her bicycle restored by the same shop where her parents bought it 60 years earlier for a whopping $39.95, plus tax.

 

International

London’s epidemic of Lime Bike Leg could be ending, after the company redesigned their bikeshare ebikes to remove a heavy center bar that could trap a user’s leg under the bike if it fell over.

An Israeli nonprofit is using bicycling as a “therapeutic and educational tool to enrich disadvantaged and behaviorally challenged youth,” while exploring the country on two wheels in small groups up to just 15 people.

 

Competitive Cycling

A 60-year old San Diego man known as “The Slasher” has 11 national championships under his belt, and is the reigning age-group mountain bike and gravel national champ, as well as the founder of the city’s Quick-n-Dirty racing series.

 

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to describe your car as “an absolute weapon” while still on probation for killing your wife with one. Your next extremely overly expensive bicycle could be a Bugatti.

And that feeling when you need a sudden change in footwear.

https://twitter.com/cyclingontnt/status/2034296832566657081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2034296832566657081%7Ctwgr%5Ebe3ac7f76316f799f4a564f3fb3df6977479cbc8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-18-march-2026

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Use caution in threatening heat, killer Long Beach driver waited 23 hours to turn himself in, and Grossman appeal rejected

March 18, 2026 / / 3 comments

My apologies for another unexcused absence. 

I was knocked on my ass by yet another migraine, which I’m told probably results from the TBI I got a couple decades ago in the Infamous Beachfront Bee Incident. 

And yes, I was wearing a helmet, and no, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. 

Then again, that’s probably the cause of my REM sleep disorder and potential pending Parkinson’s, too. 

Good times. 

And of course, I came back to yet another person killed riding a bicycle in Southern California. Which means we’re now averaging another bike death every 3.3 days this year. 

Image by Shafin Al Asad Protic from Pixabay. 

………

A week of life-threatening dry air and epic March heat could threaten your safety for the next several days.

Wear light, quick-drying clothing, bring — and drink — plenty of extra fluids, and stick to cooler, shady routes if you can.

And if possible, do your riding in the cooler morning or evening hours, when you’re less likely to suffer from heat-related problems.

I say that as someone who used to love riding on the hottest days when I was only likely to encounter mad dogs and Englishmen on the roads.

Depending on where you are, temperatures could range anywhere from the high 80s to the low 100s, at a time of year when your body isn’t adjusted to the heat.

So just be careful out there.

………

The driver who hit and killed 54-year-old Lori Ann Carreon last month called police to turn himself in the day after the crash.

But only after waiting seven hours following a call to Avis Car Rental to report he’d been in a crash in one of their cars. And even then, taking another three days to turn himself in at Long Beach police headquarters.

The beloved Long Beach occupational therapist was riding her bike just one block from her home when 40-year old Christopher Bryant allegedly blew through the stop sign at high speed, killing her on the spot.

Detectives seized his cell phone and filed search warrants to obtain phone records and GPS data, which could reveal not only where he went after the crash, but whether he was driving distracted at the time of the impact.

It would not show whether he had been under the influence when he killed Carreon, then drove home to his apartment in DTLA, however.

Bryant released on $50,000 bond after being booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.

No charges have been filed yet.

………

No surprise here.

A California appeals court upheld the conviction of socialite Rebecca Grossman, co-founder with her ex-husband of the famed Grossman Burn Center, in the speeding hit-and-run deaths of two young brothers in Westlake six years ago.

………

It’s got nothing to do with bicycling — or only tangentially, anyway — but Streets For All asks you to support the staff-approved route for the K Line Northern Extension at today’s 11 am meeting of the Metro Planning and Programming Committee meeting.

As they put it,

Once built, this would be the busiest light rail line in the country, and connect the region to key destinations like The Grove, Farmers Market, the Beverly Center, Cedars Sinai, nearly all of West Hollywood, and the Hollywood Bowl!

But it’s not a done deal, and Metro needs to hear overwhelming support for the project.

Although without a big boost in funding, it’s not likely to happen in my lifetime.

………

Megan forwards news that New York will be lowering speed limits to 15 mph in school zones.

Although you can lower speeds as much as you want, but without the right infrastructure, many drivers will just ignore it.

………

A Cartagena, Colombia-based mountain biker hangs on for dear life after taking a spill near the edge of a cliff before pulling herself to safety.

@sol_y_bici

♬ sonido original – Sol ☀️

………

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

They’re onto us, comrades. An op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune suggests the city’s new bike lanes are part of a secret plot to enhance transit-oriented developments around the city, which would trigger SB 79 to allow greater housing density near transit stops, and foist it upon unsuspecting single-family neighborhoods. Although you’ll have to find your own way around the paper’s draconian paywall. 

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

Seal Beach police report an elderly woman was hospitalized with serious injuries when she was struck by a “juvenile riding a Surron electric bicycle.” Except a Surron does not look, ride or perform anything like a bicycle, and should be classified as an electric motorbike; at least KCBS gets it right. 

………

Local 

The Los Angeles Times recommends riding a bicycle as one of the best things you can do for under twenty bucks in Los Angeles — and at least three times.

No surprise here either, as Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports drivers are destroying the new quick-build traffic circle at a deadly Koreatown intersection.

Linton also reports on quick-build bus lanes on the Westside, and a new protected bike lane Long Beach’s Pacific Ave.

Venice and Washington boulevards could get some of LA’s first automated speed cams.

A consortium of Altadena bike advocacy groups got a $2,000 Bike League grant to develop a concept for a continuous trail loop connecting West Altadena neighborhoods affected by the Eaton Fire.

Culver City finally dumps the muted green bike lanes forced upon us all by Hollywood filmmakers too cheap to digitally remove the brighter lanes.

About damn time. Santa Monica is on a path to become the first jurisdiction in California to implement automated bike lane enforcement.

 

State

Two SoCal teens are rewriting the narrative around ebikes by promoting responsibility, community and positive culture among young riders. Although the press is still conflating ped-assist ebikes with electric motorbikes and dirt bikes. 

A Victorville BMX rider was hospitalized with undisclosed injuries after being struck by a driver headed for a freeway onramp, while riding in a crosswalk.

Sad news from Salinas, where a woman in her 60s was killed when she was struck by not one, not two, but three drivers while riding her bike; naturally, the CHP blamed her dark clothing.

The Bay Area’s Caltrain commuter train is reconsidering plans to ban cargo bikes, panniers and bike child seats in the face of major blowback from bike commuters.

Sad news from San Jose, where a man riding a bicycle was killed by an alleged DUI Tesla driver, who inexplicably returned to his car after abandoning it following the crash.

 

National

Hack your own DIY illuminated bicycle pedals, while turning your small, lightweight clip-in pedals into bigass platforms.

A new study from Bicycle Colorado calls for automated enforcement after identifying 7,900 violations among just over 49,000 vehicles during 30-minute observations at 196 intersections across 25 Colorado cities and counties.

Um, okay. A website for a Chicago suburb remembers the final resting place of six-day bike race champ Albert Schock, “currently listed as the 31st greatest American rider of all time (behind Lance Armstrong and Greg Lemond.)” And no, I’m not merely mocking it because the period is in the wrong place. But that doesn’t help any.

An 83-year old Ohio man says repairing and donating bicycles is his “bicycle ministry,” giving away over 400 bicycles a month to kids and people in need. Which is an astounding number if accurate, since most organizations can’t even manage that, let alone elderly individuals. 

A local magazine says Richmond, Virginia’s mountain biking community has helped create the city’s outdoorsy culture.

 

International

He gets it. A writer for Cyclist says bikes have never mattered more because they give you a little sanity break while the world is burning. My bike got me through the death of my father, 9/11, and (insert your least favorite president here).

New bike lanes are helping to trigger “remarkable reductions” in air pollution in 19 cities around the world.

A London school kid says “safety is Paramount when you are cycling on the road.” True though it may be, the odd capitalization made me think safety matters only because it’s buying Warner Brothers. 

A British broadcaster unexpectedly finds himself riding with the country’s next king.

The head of Britain’s Asphalt Industry Alliance says it would take 12 years and the equivalent of nearly $25 billion to bring the roads of Wales and England up to standard conditions. Or as we call that here in Los Angeles, a down payment. 

A new report says bicycling saves the UK’s National Health Service the equivalent of $96 million a year in health costs. Meanwhile, it helps American insurance companies enjoy more of their record profits. 

No bias here. A British paper says the residents of Plymouth, England are up in arms for a decision to spend the equivalent of over $5 million to build a bike lane a little more than the length of two football fields, even though that involves boring through an abandoned railroad tunnel to connect two bikeways. Never mind that it should say “some” residents, and no one would likely complain if it was a car tunnel. 

The smallest bike lane in Killarney, Ireland — and possibly the entire country — measures just six inches at its narrowest point. Which even makes LA’s bike lanes seem absolutely capacious. 

The recent bicycle-friendly conversion of Paris, France may continue, as a former deputy of Mayor Anne Hidalgo is leading in early election results, after Hidalgo chose not to pursue a third six-year term.

India held the 65th edition of the nationwide Fit India Sundays on Cycle, which is a series of organized bike rides in 5,000 cities large and small.

A 40-year old Swiss bicyclist’s 10,500-mile journey from one end of Africa to the other was delayed for two weeks when military authorities in Cameroon detained him for filming a bridge in a restricted area. Because as we all know, international spies always prefer traveling by bicycle instead of high-powered sports cars.

That’s more like it. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority in the Philippines has opened a Bike-to-Work End-of-Trip shower facility to allow riders to clean up and change clothes after riding to work in the humid city.

Aussie university researchers consider the burning question of whether ebike riders should be required to have a driver’s license, aptly noting the pedelecs, or ped-assist bikes in this country, don’t pose a greater risk than regular bicycles.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mexico’s Isaac del Toro claimed the second CG victory of his career by winning Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday.

A British Continental team was the victim of an armed robbery when moped-riding thieves pulled bikes off the roof of a team car.

Jonas Vingegaard crushed the GC at Paris-Nice, sending a warning to the competition.

A Philadelphia writer looks back at Robin Morton, the first woman to own and manage a men’s professional cycling team back in the ’80s. That’s the 1980s, not the 1880s. 

 

Finally…

You could get stuck in your Waymo when restless residents rebel against our new robotic overlords. Who says bikes can’t climb trees (thanks to Steven for the heads-up)?

And only Michael Caine could look that posh on a foldie with a flat.

Bluesky post

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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