Tag Archive for hit-and-run

Morning Links: 15-year old fixie rider dragged 1,000 feet by hit-and-run driver, and a flaming bagpipe unicycle ride

August 7, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: 15-year old fixie rider dragged 1,000 feet by hit-and-run driver, and a flaming bagpipe unicycle ride

Horrible news from South LA, where a 15-year old boy was critically injured by a hit-and-run driver who sped off, leaving him bleeding in the streets.

While the story identifies him as a pedestrian, he was actually riding or walking with what appears to be a fixie when he was run down by a heartless coward at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Woodlawn Avenue around 9 pm last night — then dragged over the length of a football field under the driver’s car.

That’s around 1,000 feet.

Police described the victim as barely alive.

Officers are looking for a 2007 or 2008 dark blue or green Honda Accord with tinted windows and front-end damage.

As always, there is a standing $25,000 reward for any hit-and-run involving serious injuries in the City of Los Angeles, which will increase to $50,000 if the worst happens.

Let’s hope they catch this murderous jerk.

And pray that the boy he tried to kill by not stopping makes a fast and full recovery.

Update: The victim has been identified by his mother as Roberto Diaz, who was riding in a crosswalk after buying a soda at a nearby store when he was run down by a driver who blew through a stop sign. 

The driver stopped briefly when he or she was followed by witnesses before taking off again. 

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Apparently, parking is a common theme today.

Harbor Area planning commissioners approve plans for a new 80-room hotel in San Pedro, with 56 parking spaces for drivers, and all of five — count ’em, 5 — spaces for people with bicycles.

A massive new San Diego commercial development will feature just 90 short-term bike racks, along with 90 long-term bike lockers, to compliment nearly 1,400 parking spaces for motor vehicles. Not exactly the way to encourage people to leave their cars at home.

A bike-riding Seattle business owner says he’d rather keep the street parking in front of his cafe and put a planned bike lane somewhere else, evidently preferring his current customers to getting more business from people like him. And before someone says Seattle isn’t Amsterdam, maybe it should be. Then again, so should Los Angeles.

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Trek’s podcast talks with the founder of Black Girls Do Bike, who deserves the Medal of Freedom. Or sainthood. Or something.

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Security video captures a Kansas City-area driver plow through a crosswalk without looking, and right into a bicyclist riding in it.

Then the police ticket the driver, as well as both bike riders for not waiting for the walk signal even though they had the green light.

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Former Top Gear host James May calls on drivers to live in peace with fellow road users, and not “buy into the anti-cycling thing.”

https://twitter.com/SafeCyclingEire/status/1158470770110189569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1158470770110189569&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F265136-live-blog-dont-buy-anti-cycling-thing-james-may-tells-drivers-stop-worrying

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Local

The LA Weekly goes on a bicycle pastry tour through LA’s Fairfax District and points east. And gives a shout out to former Flying Pigeon owner Josef Bray-Ali’s popular Get Some Dim Sum rides. 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton explains LA’s wonky and acronym-heavy shift from LOS to VMT, saying it’s “likely to have big ramifications for making L.A. healthier, more walkable, more bikeable, and transit-friendly.”

Plans to redevelop the aging South Bay Galleria include what are obliquely described as “bicycle connections,” whatever that means in real life.

No need for guilt when you attend a track cycling race at the VELO Sports Center on the complex that houses Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, which Los Angeles Magazine calls the world’s most sustainable soccer facility, right down to its fleet of cruiser bikes for workers to traverse the expansive grounds.

 

State

In today’s faux soap opera report, ebikes have infiltrated the Real Housewives of Orange County, as Kelly Dodd presents her plastic surgeon boyfriend with a William Shatner-approved Pedego. And no, I had no idea who Dodd is, or anyone else on the show for that matter. But hey, good taste in gift giving.

A man was shot in the hand by a bike-jacker just after dark on bike path in the San Pasqual area near Escondido; he was shot as he raised his hands after the armed thief jumped out from behind some rocks and demanded his bicycle.

Everyone was on their best behavior as thousands of people turn out for Santa Barbara’s long-running Fiesta Cruiser Ride, after police cracked down on previous rides.

These are difficult days for local bike shops trying to compete in today’s online shopping world, as demonstrated by two bike shops closing in San Luis Obispo in just the last week.

The Davis Enterprise offers a quartet of stories celebrating the US Bicycling Hall of Fame on its 10th birthday, calling it the most bikey thing about the bike-mad town and part of the fabric of the community, while noting that the hall may shift gears in the future.

 

National

If anyone is shocked that Uber and Lyft are making traffic congestion worse, you need to get out more. But at least they finally admit it.

Ebike price continue to drop, as Electrek and Verge like the new Swagtron EB12 city bike, which checks in at penny under $1,000; the best part is it looks like an actual bicycle. And hopefully rides that way.

Great idea. A new bike light currently crowdfunding online offers dual lights, with one forward-facing 500 lumen LED to light the road, and another back-facing LED to make the rider more visible to drivers.

C|net compares a pair of low cost GoPro alternatives to the real thing.

A pair of cancer survivors just rode 4,000 miles across the US to promote bone marrow donations and raise $24,000 for the organization that helped save their own lives.

The mountain bike front derailleur isn’t dead yet, it’s just 90% off.

Hats off to a Boise, Idaho pawnshop owner, who helped bust a serial bike thief trying to unload $40,000 worth of bicycles reportedly stolen in Washington, California, Nevada, Florida, Colorado, Virginia, and North Carolina.

After 45 years, savage serial killer Ted Bundy’s last case was finally closed, 45 years after he took the life of a young Colorado woman as she was out for a bike ride.

A Kansas man is on trial for aggravated battery for critically injuring MMA fighter Carmella James while she was riding her bicycle to work; police believe he was under the influence, but don’t appear to have tested him.

A San Antonio TX bike rider was shot in the back in a drive-by.

An Arkansas bicycle coordinator says bike helmets are great, but mandatory helmet laws aren’t.

Yes, 288-pound NFL star JJ Watt replaced a young Green Bay Packers fan’s bicycle, after breaking the boy’s bike riding it to training camp.

Broadway actor Noah Galvin is one of us, riding along Manhattan’s Riverfront Park when he’s not performing in the hit show Waitress.

It takes a humongous schmuck to steal not one, not two, but three ghost bikes dedicated to a Virginia woman’s sister, who calls them a powerful symbol of a life lost.

A North Carolina city legalizes riding on the sidewalk as a stopgap measure until they get a planned bike lane network installed, recognizing that their streets aren’t currently safe for people on bicycles. On the other hand, riding on the sidewalk usually isn’t any safer; in fact, it usually increases your risk due to limited sight lines.

They get it. In a New Orleans podcast, bike advocates say we’ll have peace on the road when everyone has a piece of the road; meanwhile, the host of the podcast says progress on the city’s bike network is “worth the inconvenience of adapting to it.” I like him already.

 

International

No bias here. European truck drivers say they’ll give bike riders a safe passing distance as long as we’re required to wear hi-vis and and use daytime lights.

The family of a fallen London bike rider call for safer streets after the pioneering physician was fatally doored last September.

WTF? A local UK council gets an injunction preventing bike riders from meeting or congregating at a new cycling café. Which raises the obvious question of what exactly is the point of a cycling café if cyclists can’t use it. And if you bump into someone there who also rides a bike, does one of you have to leave?

The former Posh Spice is one of us, as she goes for a bike ride on a romantic Italian getaway with husband David Beckham and their four kids.

Travel and Leisure says the best way to see the scenic Swiss countryside is by bicycle, even if you’re a beginning rider.

A Luxembourg website lists the most common traffic violations for the country’s bicyclists, while noting that bike riders were only held accountable for 40% of bike crashes. The question is how many drivers were ticketed for the same crashes.

News reports question whether the president of Turkmenistan is suffering from a serious illness — or worse — despite recent news clips showing him riding and participating in other activities, which could have been outtakes from previous clips.

 

Competitive Cycling

Underscoring the danger pro cyclists face on a daily basis, the director of the Tour de Pologne, aka Tour of Poland, blames the tragic death of 22-year old Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht on a single “moment of hesitation.”

Yesterday’s stage of the Tour of Poland was transformed to a solemn memorial procession with the peloton riding in Lambrecht’s honor.

A writer for Cycling Weekly recalls the pivotal role Lambrecht played in an extraordinary day of racing at a U-23 race trough the Pyrenees.

Cycling Tips questions how long on-and-off road cycling champ Mathieu van der Poel can keep up his torrid pace.

Who says women can’t compete with the men? Twenty-four-year old German cancer researcher Fiona Kolbinger became the first woman to win the European Transcontinental Race, covering 2,485 miles across the continent in just 10 days, two hours and 48 minutes to beat 265 other riders. And it was her first bike race.

Finally…

This is what you might call an epic bike lane fail. Take your pooch on a Jump bike ride.

And we’ll just end on this one without comment.

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

Update: Man riding bike home killed by alleged drunken hit-and-run driver in Ontario

August 1, 2019 / / 2 comments

Once again, an innocent person has been murdered by a cowardly hit-and-run driver.

A driver who somehow couldn’t manage to avoid getting behind the wheel after drinking, with predictable results.

Allegedly, of course.

But at least this time, the killer was caught a short time later, and not far away.

According to the Fontana Herald News, the victim was riding west on Mission Blvd near Baker Ave in Ontario, just south of the airport, when he was run down sometime early Wednesday morning.

He was found on the shoulder of the road by a passerby, who called police at 1:10 am; no word on how long he’d been there before being discovered.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the paper, he was on his way home, riding west on Mission, when he was somehow struck by a cowardly hit-and-run driver, who left him there to die.

Nearly an hour and a half later, police received a report of a suspicious vehicle less than a block away in a parking lot at 1320 S. Baker Ave.

They found it had major front end damage matching the evidence at the crash scene, while the driver, 31-year old Ontario resident Julio Tapia, was still inside with minor head and face injuries.

He was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI, hit-and-run, and gross vehicular manslaughter.

If there was any real justice, he’d be charged with second degree murder for making a conscious decision to leave the victim of his hit-and-run to die there in the street, rather than calling for help as the law and basic human decency demands.

Assuming he was actually capable of making a decision, and wasn’t so drunk he had no idea what the hell just happened.

He’s being held on a quarter-million dollar bond pending arraignment on Friday.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Ontario Police Department at 909/986-6711 or Officer Brandon Resendez at 909/408-1805.

This is at least the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 22-year old Pomona resident Thomas Shane Pinto.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Thomas Shane Pinto and his loved ones.

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

Morning Links: Balboa bicyclist crashes with LAPD moto, search for hit-and-run driver, and making SD customers drive

July 23, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Balboa bicyclist crashes with LAPD moto, search for hit-and-run driver, and making SD customers drive

Frequent contributor Danger D came across the immediate aftermath of a serious collision near Balboa Park early yesterday afternoon, involving a bike rider and an LAPD motorcycle cop.

Just passing by on the bike path on Burbank Blvd in the Balboa Dam area. They have the whole of Burbank Blvd closed in the area (probably to hide what they did until they can find a reason it’s not their fault)

An officer let me through while others tried to stop me from going under the tape. You should make some inquiry into this collision. Cop bike on its side in the westbound lane and a totaled bicycle with a bent over front wheel in the center of the road.

There’s no word on how the crash happened. Particularly since there’s a separated bike path around Lake Balboa that parallels Burbank Blvd.

According to traffic reports, the street was blocked off entirely throughout the afternoon and through the evening rush hour, which is not a good sign.

An extended total street closure like that usually means a fatal crash, or one they think could become one. Unless maybe they were just taking extra care with the investigation because a police officer was involved.

But at last report, the officer was hospitalized with minor injuries, while the person on the bicycle was in critical condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

Let’s hope it stays that way.

Photo from LAPD website.

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Tony Berquam is looking for the cowardly jerk — my words, not his — who left an injured bike rider lying in the street.

On 7/16, 5-5:30 pm, eastbound on Beverly near Fairfax, a lone cyclist was clipped by an unknown vehicle, knocking him to the ground. The rider was rendered unconscious and left injured in the street. The driver did not leave contact information. The cyclist was subsequently transported to Cedars by emergency services. Any help in establishing the involved vehicle and or related information is appreciated.

If you have any information, you can contact him at tbb422010@gmail.com.

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If you think your customers only arrive at your business in cars, maybe it’s because they don’t have any other choice.

That’s the battle San Diego merchants in the North Park neighborhood continue to fight, demanding that the city reverse plans for removing 420 parking spaces along 30th Street in favor of protected bike lanes.

Never mind that studies have shown that bike riders shop more often, and spend more in the long term, than people who arrive by car.

Or that making a street more bikeable — and therefore more walkable — results in an increase in livability, and a thriving, prosperous commercial district.

Not to mention a decrease in commercial vacancies, while boosting property values in the surrounding area.

But instead of explaining all that to his constituents, a weathervane councilmember stuck his finger in the wind, and decided the plan needs “slight changes” in favor of maintaining the automotive hegemony in the district.

So business owners continue to fight against their own self interests.

And San Diegans will continue to do their shopping by car, because it’s the only real option they have.

Full disclosure — I lived in the North Park neighborhood before moving to Los Angeles in 1990.

And while I loved living in one of the city’s few truly mixed neighborhoods, I hated the feeling of being unsafe anytime I tried to walk or bike to local restaurants or shops. It was easier to just hop in my car and take my business somewhere else.

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To the best of my knowledge, no bicycle ever flew off the road into one of my favorite fishing spots just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park.

But I admit I may have come close a few times.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

A Northern Irish bike rider learned the hard way that someone had scattered box cutter blades on a Belfast bike path after one sliced through his rear tire.

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Local

LAist’s Leo Duran offers tips on how to get started riding a bike in Los Angeles.  He also says Biking in LA can be dicey. But I’ll try not to take it personally.

Long Beach addresses concerns about the recent Broadway road diet by agreeing to make “tweaks” to the roadway design — including widening traffic lanes in places by taking space from the protected bike lanes.

 

State

The Orange County Transportation Agency wants to improve your safety on your bike and on foot with a series of Be Safe Be Seen workshops. If they really want to improve safety for bike riders and pedestrians, they should give the workshops to drivers. And make them mandatory.

San Francisco Streetsblog says it’s time to stop Caltrans and Alameda County from building another bike and pedestrian hellscape by removing sidewalks and crosswalks, and forcing both to share 3.4 foot maintenance catwalk through a tunnel.

This is who we share the roads with. A red light-running Tesla driver is accused of slamming into a San Francisco couple as they walked in a crosswalk, killing the husband.

He gets it. Great piece from an Oakland illustrator, explains graphically why he’s afraid to ride a bicycle, even though his neighborhood is flat and he doesn’t drive a car.

 

National

The high-end Robb Report looks at the new and ponderously named Specialized S-Works Turbo Creo SL-Founder’s Edition, saying someone finally made an ebike that doesn’t look like an ebike. Which should come as a surprise to all the other ebikes that don’t look like ebikes that got here first.

A Portland nonprofit uses adaptive bikes to help people living with a disability or dementia enjoy the thrill of getting outside and riding a bicycle, even if someone else is doing all the pedaling.

The Department of DIY suffered a setback after an Alaska father used his own money to rent plastic bollards to keep drivers from mistaking the bike path his kids ride on for a roadway; the state DOT took them down the next day, insisting the 17 signs drivers already ignore are good enough.

Denver bike riders complain about downtown’s patchy bike network, and the total ban on bike riders on the 16th Street Mall. Which are the same things I complained about when I lived there. Except not even a patchy bike network was there then.

A Missouri writer says bike lanes are political, not practical, and everyone should just merrily mix with traffic in the streets like he does. Which is exactly what’s inhibited the growth of bicycling for the past 60 years. And will keep depressing bike rates, and bike riders, until people like him stop giving cover to anti-bike traffic engineers. 

Good for them. An Illinois woman’s own parents turned her into the police for the hit-and-run that left a 63-year old man with serious injuries, after she crashed into his bicycle. My dad would have done the same thing. Then made me apologize to the victim and pay for the damages.

They get it, too. The New Yorker asks if the automobile era was a big mistake, saying our cars haven’t loved us back for the love we’ve given them over the past century. Short answer, yes. Longer answer, things weren’t so awful for the first 50 years or so, if you can ignore all the pollution and killing people and stuff.

This is who we share the roads with, too. A Queens, New York community board member’s comment that pedestrians deserve to get run over reflects a car-first culture that continues to grant motorists hegemony over the street at the expense of everyone else.

A Maryland woman was killed in a collision while participating in a 50-mile fundraising ride for a local fire department. Note to WJZ-13 in Baltimore — chances are she didn’t collide with a car; the driver hit her.

Hats off to a group for teenagers in a Georgia youth home, who rode their bikes 500 miles through two states to move past addiction and show themselves and others what they’re capable of.

 

International

Counterfeit bike saddles could literally mean the difference between life and death.

A Toronto op-ed says bike lanes won’t end the city’s hostility to people on bicycles.

A British barrister claims his client’s Parkinson’s means he couldn’t be responsible for killing a bike rider because he was driving in a state of automatism, with no idea what he was doing. Which only means he shouldn’t have been driving in the first place.

A UK writer says start the two-wheeled revolution without her.

 

Competitive Cycling

The AP says this year’s wide open Tour de France is saving its best for last.

The Beach Reporter offers more photos from Sunday’s Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, where CiclaValley’s young daughter got to meet her idol Coryn Rivera and got a souvenir jersey from last year’s US road champ.

 

Finally…

A Hall of Famer’s career was nearly derailed by riding his bike back home after arriving too early for his first practice as an eight-year old. Comic-Con, where dockless scooters and bicycles go to die.

And a properly sepia-toned look back at the early days of bicycling in Europe.

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I neglected to thank Eric L yesterday for his very generous donation to help support this site, and keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.

Although you can be thankful we haven’t followed the lead of all the “Christmas in July” sales and TV movies to run a midsummer holiday fund drive.

And yes, I’m properly embarrassed that last year’s holiday fund drive page is still up on the header for this site, like someone who still has the Christmas lights up on his doublewide trailer. 

 

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

Update: Man killed while riding with his girlfriend in Expo Park hit-and-run

July 21, 2019 / / 3 comments

Yet another innocent life has been taken by a heartless killer driver.

According to KTLA-5, someone ran down the man as he was riding with his girlfriend in Exposition Park Saturday night.

Then fled the scene without stopping. Or apparently giving a damn.

The couple were riding on Jefferson Boulevard at Denker Avenue in Expo Park around 10:30 pm when the victim was struck by a speeding driver headed west on Jefferson.

The man, who has not been publicly identified, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died a short time later.

His girlfriend was uninjured, though the trauma of watching someone she cared about get killed right in front of her last a lifetime.

No description is available for the driver, while the car was described only as a dark-colored sedan.

A street view shows a four lane street with left turn bays, and no bike lanes or any other form of infrastructure or protection for people on bicycles.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD South Traffic Division Detective Flannery or Officer Pollard at 323/421-2500. As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.

Hopefully that will be enough to bring this coward to justice.

This is at least the 40th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the eighth in the City of Los Angeles.

Update: A friend of the victim, who remains unidentified publicly, tells me was almost home when he was killed.

Update 2: The victim has been identified in Spanish language media as 24-year old Cristian Méndez Ramos. (Correction: I originally spelled his name as Christian, rather than Cristian; Univision spelled it both ways. Thanks to Angie Sims for the correction.)

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Cristian Méndez Ramos and his family and loved ones.

 

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

Morning Links: US bike and pedestrian deaths up in 2018, Mehta convicted in OC hit-and-run, and e-scooters in the news

June 18, 2019 / / 5 comments

Traffic deaths are down slightly in the US.

But only if you’re in a car or truck. Otherwise, it appears to be open season on anyone walking or riding a bike.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, overall traffic deaths declined last year to a three-year low of 36,750.

But preliminary numbers show bicycling deaths were projected to rise a whopping 10%, while pedestrian fatalities are up 4%.

Officials would like to put the blame on distracted drivers, but are having a hard time getting accurate figures. Because — tres shock! — drivers are reluctant to admit they were distracted after killing someone.

No word yet on the actual number of deaths for either group.

But whatever it turns out to be, it’s too damn many.

Photo shows an abandoned bike carcass that someone undoubtedly loved once, left carelessly on the sidewalk.

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I’m told that Medium contributor Pratiti Renee Mehta has been convicted by a jury of her peers in the Costa Mesa hit-and-run that left a 56-year old bike rider with a compound ankle fracture this past March.

She was arrested following numerous tips from the public after police released photos of her black Mercedes following the victim just before running him down.

Prosecutors dropped a charge of assault with a deadly weapon before the case went to trial.

She’ll be formally sentenced on July 17th.

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Today’s common theme is e-scooters.

Lots of e-scooters.

According to a San Francisco op-ed, a bill under consideration in the state legislature would ban liability waivers for scooter providers, opening the companies up to countless lawsuits, frivolous and otherwise.

Someone vandalized dozens of dockless bikes and e-scooters in San Diego’s Ocean Beach with graffiti containing “inappropriate” words, including “Bird sucks.”

A Nashville writer says e-scooters are not the transportation revolution we need.

New York is finally deciding to join the 21st Century with a bill that would finally legalize ebikes, as well as e-scooters.

E-scooter riders face a $600 fine in British Columbia, where the devices fall into a grey area where they’re neither permitted or banned.

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Add one more to our recent collection of WWII bike photos, this time from a sailor stationed in Panama (see the last photo).

And a pretty snappy dresser, too.

https://twitter.com/latinostrategy/status/1140838933661487109

Thanks to Megan Lynch for forwarding this one.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on, as a British magazine jokes about using razor wire to stop bicyclists from riding on the sidewalk.

At least, let’s hope they’re joking.

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Local

The Daily News highlights six transportation projects that will transform the San Fernando Valley in coming years. We’ll have to fight to ensure they include bikeways, like many other light rail and BRT (bus rapid transit) projects in the LA area.

Metro will consider first mile/last mile options for the Gold Line at Wednesday’s meeting of the Planning and Programming Committee.

Metro’s Bicycle Education Safety Training (BEST) Program will team with the Pasadena Public Library, LA River Path Project and People for Mobility Justice to present a Bicycle 101 class in Pasadena this Saturday.

 

State

That feeling when good news about a Santa Barbara bike rider turns out to be an ad for the local trauma center.

The leaders of a San Francisco transit workers union say the city is sabotaging its own bikeshare system.

Streetsblog San Francisco congratulates Caltrans for winning an award for creating “another bike and pedestrian hellscape,” complaining the agency has no idea what constitutes safe infrastructure.

A Stockton newspaper recommends exploring the “old pioneer trail” from Old Sacramento to Folsom. And notes that you can easily do all, or part, by bicycle.

 

National

Uh… Seattle spanks Jump and Lime for failing to report complaints about illegally parked dockless ebikes by reducing the number of bikes they’re allowed to deploy on the streets to… 700 more than they do now. That’s going to teach ’em alright.

Apparently having solved the problem of deadly, speeding drivers, Denver is turning its speed guns on bike riders who exceed the city’s 15 mph speed limit on bike paths, threatening $100 tickets for the first offense — whether or not you have a speedometer on your bike.

An 18-year old Wisconsin man is dead after being shot by police in an incident that began with riding a bike without lights after dark; he allegedly dropped his bike and ran, then turned and fired at officers after they used some sort of non-lethal weapons to get him to stop.

Riding 180 miles across Maine — on one wheel.

They get it. Gothamist says no other commute beats the sensory experience of riding a bike.

The NYPD apparently likes bikes without riders more than the ones with one, pausing to rescue a locked bike from a swarm of bees.

Now that’s more like it. A Pennsylvania combination coffee shop and bike shop wins permission to open a taproom, as well. Is it just a coincidence that it’s located in the hometown of Bicycling magazine? Probably not.

A Delaware town says all those wobbly, inexperienced bike riders need to be more courteous.

A Virginia motorcyclist faces a variety of charges after crashing into an eight-year old boy on a bicycle after fleeing from police, who wanted to pull him over for speeding; fortunately, the boy’s injuries were not life-threatening.

 

International

They get it. A Montreal newspaper says it’s time to turn accepted logic that customers arrive by cars and bike lanes are bad for business on its head.

A Nova Scotia bike rider learns the hard way that bicyclists aren’t allowed to ride in the traffic lane if there’s a bike lane on the road, otherwise known as a “must use” law. The same law applies in California, though there are numerous exceptions — including if you’re riding at the speed of traffic.

A Trinidad actor appeared in court for the first time to face charges in the horrific crash that killed two bike riders on the island last year; two other riders survived their injuries.

London residents call for an end to bicycle tours, saying they pose a risk to participants and others. Just wait until they hear about tour buses.

The Guardian’s Peter Walker considers the depressing lessons of the failed flagship bikeway through London’s tony Kensington and Chelsea borough, saying the defeat came after a campaign centered on myths. Including one truly despicable woman who posed as the aunt of a fallen bicyclist to oppose the plan; the victim’s actual sister said blocking the plan was unforgivable.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list — bikepacking through the Scottish Highlands. I’m in as long as we can add a few Bobby Burns sites somewhere along the way.

More on Irish County Mayo’s wacky plan to improve bicycle safety by requiring bike riders to mount license plates on their bikes.

Cities in the Netherlands have traffic jams, too — they’re just on bicycles.

The Guardian offers photos of 15 of the world’s best bicycling infrastructure projects from the Bicycle Architecture Biennale in Amsterdam. Guess how many of those are in Los Angeles? No, really, go ahead and guess.

Forget bikeshare. A Dutch company wants you to dump your bike in favor of a monthly bicycle subscription service.

The world’s biggest bike maker says Trump’s tariff’s are the final nail in the coffin, as Giant prepares to move manufacturing to Taiwan.

 

Competitive Cycling

Amity Rockwell shares the secrets to eschewing meat, and winning the Dirty Kanza gravel race anyway.

Cyclist considers what Jakob Fuglsang’s victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné means for the upcoming Tour de France.

Australia’s Will Clarke won’t be riding in his inaugural Tour de France after all, after the 34-year old cyclist suffered multiple broken bones in a horrific crash in a Belgian race after leading most of the way.

https://twitter.com/wcsbike/status/1140242280584007680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1140242280584007680&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.examiner.com.au%2Fstory%2F6220187%2Ftour-hope-gone%2F

 

Finally…

First it was angry drivers, now the deer are out to get us, too. Evidently, there’s no age limit to bike theft.

And no, there is no National SUV Month.

For good reason.

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

Update: Bike rider killed in South Gate hit-and-run late Saturday night

June 16, 2019 / / 6 comments

Once again, a heartless coward has taken the life of an innocent person.

This time, it happened in South Gate, where a bike rider killed last night.

According to KTLA-5, a man was riding east in the crosswalk on Imperial Highway at the South Gate onramp to the northbound 710 Freeway when the driver of a large black Ford SUV or pickup truck slammed into him around 11:30 pm.

The driver fled onto the freeway, leaving the victim, who has not been publicly identified, to die at the scene.

The crash occurred just steps from the entrance to the LA River bike path.

Given the hour and location, there’s a good chance the victim was homeless. Which doesn’t reduce the tragedy, or the severity of the crime, in any way.

Anyone with information is urged to call CHP Officer J. Vargas at 323/980-4600.

This is at least the 35th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 14th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 67-year old Manuel Coronel, described as a homeless man. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Manuel Coronel and his loved ones.

 

 

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

Morning Links: A mea culpa, discussion of bikes & climate change in the ‘Bu, and murder change for speeding NoHo driver

June 13, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: A mea culpa, discussion of bikes & climate change in the ‘Bu, and murder change for speeding NoHo driver

Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.

Let me start with a profound apology for yesterday’s unexcused absence.

Usually when my blood sugar crashes, I get warning signs, like uncontrollable shaking or yawning, sleepiness, or the cold sweats, that allow me to catch it before it’s too late.

But sometimes, none of those thing happen. And that’s when it’s most dangerous, when I have no idea that my blood sugar has dropped to dangerous levels.

That’s what happened Tuesday night.

When I checked my blood sugar before taking the Corgi out for her last walk of the day, I felt fine. So I was shocked to discover it was just 53 mg/dl.

Normal for you is around 100; normal for me, as a diabetic, is 100 to 150.

And much below 50, for too long, is dead.

In fact, that’s the point where my doctor has instructed my wife to get me to the ER, stat, if I can’t get it back up.

I was just four points from that before I even knew there was a problem.

Fortunately, a fig bar and a bowl of ice cream got me back up around 80 mg/dl  within half an hour.

And no, the irony is not lost on me that my life-saving medication is dessert for anyone else.

But the damage was done.

The symptoms, when they finally came, hit with the impact of a failed parachute.

Then once I got that under control, I passed out. Except this time, it didn’t last for just an hour or two, allowing me to resume work once I woke up.

Instead, it was 4:30 in the morning before I could rouse myself just to make it from the couch to the bed. Then almost noon before I woke up enough to take the Corgi out, sleeping through a number of alarm clocks and a phone call from my wife along the way.

Not to mention one hell of a headache.

So my apologies for not posting yesterday, or even posting about why I wasn’t posting. But I was in no shape to write anything.

And frankly, too out of it to care.

………

On the other hand, there’s one bit of good news before we get started.

My physical therapist has given me the okay to actually ride my bike out on the street, instead of on the trainer, once I feel up to it.

Problem is, I don’t feel up to it right now.

If I lived in a quieter neighborhood, or had better access to an offroad path like the LA River of Ballona Creek, I’d give it a try.

But here in Hollywood, with its heavy traffic and almost complete lack of bicycling infrastructure, I need a lot more strength in my newly repair leg before I’m confident enough to mix it up with LA drivers.

And don’t even get me started on those laughable sharrows on Vine Street.

I’m getting stronger every day now, though, and hopefully I’ll have enough confidence in my new knee to give it a try in the next week or two.

Because we definitely won’t be getting any new bike lanes anytime soon.

………

A team of UCLA “climate explorers” is riding from Oakland to Los Angeles as we speak, to learn “first-hand about climate change impacts and solutions.”

They’ll pitstop in Malibu on Saturday, June 22nd for a panel discussion about climate change and sustainability.

And presumably, what they learned along the way.

………

Now that’s more like it.

A 24-year old woman faces murder and hit-and-run charges for the high-speed crash that killed a motor scooter rider in North Hollywood last week.

Now if we could just see charges like that when someone runs a bicycle rider down.

………

A British bike rider blocked a pair of angry salmon motorists from taking a short cut on the wrong side of the road. And got so many pats on the back from fellow bike riders and passing drivers he may not be able to wear a backpack for a few weeks.

Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

Police are looking for whoever strung rope at varying heights in several places along a Newport RI bike path with “the intent to cause harm.”

………

Local

LA Councilmember Paul Koretz tries to shove the genie back in the bottle, declaring his fevered desire to get rid of e-scooters entirely, while calling them anti-Vision Zero. In which case he should support them, since he’s been fighting Vision Zero since the beginning. And if he really wants to talk anti-Vision Zero, wait until he hears about cars.

Long Beach responds to drivers complaints about the new Broadway parking-protected bike lanes by ending street-sweeping in favor of sweeping just the bike lanes, and restoring 65 parking spaces.

CiclaValley shows you the sights and sounds of PedalFest 2019. And he’s leading a Pacifico Mountain Ride for Gravel Bike California on June 30th.

 

State

Lyft is dumping their association with Ford and the Ford GoBike brand for their Bay Area bikeshare system, and will bring their new black and pink ebikes to San Jose next.

Bird buys its way into the San Francisco e-scooter market by buying scooter competitor Scoot, after being blocked out by the city.

Bicycling remembers Petaluma master framebuilder Bruce Gordon, who passed away last Friday.

A Modesto paper calls Yosemite’s bike trails among the park’s best kept secrets.

 

National

Bicycling lists eleven things you need to start riding on gravel. Or you could just get a bike, put wider tires on it, and ask CiclaValley to take you for a ride.

Bike lawyer Bob Mionske is back with advice for how to deal with an assault by an unfunny prankster. Best advice — always ride with a bike cam. I mount mine on my helmet; the minimal neck strain is offset by the ability to focus it anywhere I turn my head.

Your next ebike could be made of plastic.

An Oregon man is riding across the US in memory of a friend who died of breast cancer — despite suffering seven strokes himself.

Great idea. Denver public libraries will now allow you to check out a bike repair kit, including tools and a tire pump.

Bike cops in an Illinois town will now be patrolling the streets on a pair of massive, “military-grade” ebikes.

A Michigan bike rider is shocked when an SUV driver rear-ends his bike — then blames him for the crash before fleeing the scene.

Louisville KY police recover a boy’s brand new bike after it was stolen, and personally deliver it to the emergency room where he was taken for apparently unrelated injuries.

He gets it. A Nashville op-ed writer says don’t give up on e-scooters, following calls to ban them after a man was killed.

Best argument so far for not stopping at a red light. A Chattanooga bike rider was injured when someone walked up and shot him as he was stopped at an intersection.

Tuesday night races are back on at a defunct Brooklyn naval air base after nearly getting priced out of existence.

City Limits says if New York’s Vision Zero isn’t working, blame the lack of consequences for drivers who hit bike riders and pedestrians.

New York rapper A$AP Ferg is one of us, partnering with Redline to market his own limited-edition line of BMX bikes showcasing his own mad skills.

A New York Streetsblog editor picks the best bikes for foldie lovers on a budget, testing “a bunch” of bikes to pick the best folding bikes for under $1,500.

An op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer says a bill under consideration to legalize parking-protected bike lanes in Pennsylvania would improve safety for everyone, while helping to improve people’s heart health.

You’ve got to be kidding. The hit-and-run driver who fled after crashing into a Charleston SC pedicab while driving with a BAC of .24 — three times the legal alcohol limit — walked with less than a slap on the wrist, as a judge sentenced her to a fine and a lousy 48 hours of community service. If you want to know why people keep dying on our streets, this is it.

Best product placement ever. A Florida bike rider refuses to go to the hospital after he was hit by a truck driver until someone bought him a Coke. They did, and he did.

 

International

National Geographic gets it, saying bikes are the best way to tour cities around globe. And good for the planet, too.

Saskatoon takes a big step backward, ripping out protected bike lanes because the city’s drivers somehow couldn’t figure them out, and wanted more parking places, anyway.

An Ottawa bike rider made the point the hard way when he was hit by a driver just blocks from a protest at city hall calling for safer streets.

A Berlin group is helping refugee and migrant women gain confidence and independence by learning to ride a bike.

When Aussie bike riders post a video of crashes and near misses, commenters are quick to blame the people on two wheels. Even though a kangaroo caused one of them.

A writer for Cycling Tips pulls out his deerstalker hat and pipe to uncover the strange tale behind the rapid rise and sudden disappearance of disruptive Chinese smart bike maker SpeedX.

 

Competitive Cycling

Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome suffered a major setback in his quest for a fifth title when he crashed into the side of a house at high speed. Froome had just finished a descent when he took his hand off his handlebars to blow his nose, and a sudden gust of wind blew him off the road; he’s currently in intensive care with undisclosed injuries.

VeloNews looks at LA’s Justin Williams and his new Legion of Los Angeles cycling team following his two stage wins and second place finish in last weekend’s Tulsa Tough.

Maybe the thief just wanted to take a joy ride. The Jumbo-Visma cycling team was victimized by a bike thief who struck when the team mechanic turned his back for a moment, then left the distinctive looking bike on the side of the road the next day.

 

Finally…

Pedal harder, or no Netflix for you. On the other hand, how slow can you go?

And you might want to hold off on using the New Orleans bikeshare for awhile.

 

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

Maywood bike rider killed in Boyle Heights hit-and-run; police alibi driver in advance

June 1, 2019 / / 4 comments

Once again, a bike rider has lost his life at the hands of a hit-and-run driver.

But this time, the police have given him — or her — a ready-made excuse for the crime.

According to a statement by the LAPD, 24-year old Maywood resident Jaime Ramirez was killed by the driver of a semi-truck at Lynwood Ave and 8th Street in Boyle Heights around 9:30 pm Friday night.

Ramirez was riding south on Lynwood, splitting lanes between a car and the semi, when he either lost control of his bike or was hit by one of the drivers as he neared 8th, and somehow fell under the rear wheels of the truck.

The driver kept going without stopping, failing to notice — or ignoring — a witness chasing behind in his car, honking and flashing his lights.

Despite frantic efforts to save his life, Ramirez died at the scene.

Unfortunately the driver received an alibi in advance, courtesy of the LAPD, who said he or she may not be aware they’d hit anyone.

So now all the driver has to do to get away with it is claim just that, regardless of whether it has any basis in fact.

The truck was described as an all-white semi with sleeper cab and a box trailer, and no visible logos or other markings, California license 4MY4587. Police believe the driver may be on the way to Fresno.

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

This is at least the 32nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the seventh in the City of Los Angeles.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jaime Ramirez and all his family and loved ones. 

Thanks to Megan Lynch and John Dammon for the heads-up.

https://twitter.com/LAPDCTD24/status/1134978265284636672

 

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: LAPD wants your help to solve hit-and-run, and bike/ped safety crackdowns in SaMo & Santa Barbara

May 23, 2019 / / 2 comments

My apologies to anyone who commented on here recently.

A user error on my part kept me from getting notified about new comments; hopefully I’ve fixed it so I can keep up with them from here on.

………

LAPD detectives have asked for the public’s help in finding the hit-and-run driver who left a bike rider with a broken leg near MacArthur Park earlier this month.

Although the question remains why the LAPD still refuses to use the hit-and-run alert systems approved by both the city and the state to a notify the public in a timely manner while their memories are still fresh.

Let alone mention more often that there’s a standing Los Angeles reward of $25,000 for any hit-and-run driver that seriously injures someone, and $50,000 if someone is killed, with lesser amounts for property damage and less serious injuries.

Our elected leaders have given them the tools to help reduce the hit-and-run epidemic.

But it’s up to the LAPD to actually use them.

………

Santa Barbara will is just the latest city to conduct a bicycle and pedestrian safety operation this Sunday.

Meanwhile, Santa Monica will try to ruin someone’s three-day weekend by holding one today, tomorrow and Monday.

The usual protocols apply; ride to the letter of the law until you leave the city limits that day.

………

Chances are, your bike commute doesn’t go through an underground limestone cave.

………

How to save space by hanging your bike on the wall.

Thanks to David Wolfberg for the last two videos.

………

Local

He gets it. The LA Time’s Steve Lopez calls for greater density and even & odd driving days to fight congestion and climate change.

A bike rider was shot in the leg in an East Hollywood drive-by after he was challenged by a passenger in the car about what gang he was from. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any good answer to that question that will keep you from getting shot.

Meanwhile, another bike rider was injured in a Pico Rivera shooting that followed almost the exact same script.

Altadena Councilwoman Dorothy Wong expressed concern for vulnerable road users being sandwiched between 50-foot long trucks, cones and cars as work begins on removing sediment from the Devil’s Gate Dam, putting 400 dump trucks on the streets of the San Gabriel Valley every day.

Not everyone agrees with the recent criticism of the new Broadway protected bike lanes in Long Beach.

 

State

Sad news from Costa Mesa, where a 34-year old woman suffered life-threatening injuries when she was struck by a truck driver Wednesday morning; a comment from James suggests the city had unwisely removed the crosswalk at that intersection. Let’s send our prayers and best wishes for a full and fast recovery; thanks to Lois for the heads-up.

A San Diego weekly says the coming protected bike lanes on 30th Street in North Park will be good for the neighborhood.

Sacramento is planning to use eminent domain to seize private property to extend the city’s riverfront bike trail.

A Santa Rosa driver was booked for DUI and felony hit-and-run for fleeing the scene after crashing into a woman on her bike; fortunately, she was not seriously injured.

 

National

A Salt Lake City columnist tells everyone to relax, because it’s possible to support both birds and bike trails if you do it right.

Denver-area bike shops brace for price increases in the wake of Trump’s trade war with China. Which means that ultimately, we’ll all pay for it.

A 76-year old Wyoming man and his wife will ride the 363-mile Erie Canal Trail in upstate New York on ped-assist bikes — even though he’s dependent on oxygen for COPD.

Bighearted Indianapolis police surprise a coffee shop worker with a refurbished bike and helmet after he asked where he could find one.

A New York state ebike rider says he’s being singled out for having too much fun, not breaking the long-standing prohibition against using them on trails.

No, NYPD, seizing ebikes doesn’t improve safety for anyone.

Evidently, cars blocking bike lanes is thing even in the deep South, like this new bike lane in Charlotte NC.

Once again, a foreign tourist has been killed bicycling across the US. A Danish man was fatally shot in an apparent robbery blocks from the hotel he was staying in during a stop in New Orleans.

 

International

Don’t bother driving, Uber data shows it’s no faster than walking in many cities around the world.

After her best friend was killed riding a bike, a Chilean woman developed an app to help riders find the best route through their city.

A Kansas man rode his bike a thousand miles to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in just ten days, only to have it stolen off the back of his truck. But raised over $33,000 to fight eating disorders along the way.

Calgary debates adopting the Idaho Stop Law.

A British Olympic triathlete learned the hard way that deer are apparently out to get us.

An English man demonstrates that bikeshare is good for commuting and errands, as well as fleeing the scene after murdering the wealthy widow he befriended.

A new film premiering at Cannes follows two two friends as they turn a difficult bike ride into a dark comedy.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist looks at what it’s like to ride the fabled cobbles of Paris-Roubaix.

UCI tested 117 cyclists for the drug after banning tramadol; so far, all the tests have been negative

 

Finally…

Why settle for rubber when the dandelions can meet the road. If you don’t want to have a panic attack while getting busted, maybe don’t steal a bike in the first place.

And your mountain bike is a threat to grizzly bears, not the other way around.

Although I know someone who might argue.

If he still could.

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

Morning Links: Haute couture Dior ghost bike, bicyclists told to walk across bridge, and $43.6 million for LA bike projects

May 20, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Haute couture Dior ghost bike, bicyclists told to walk across bridge, and $43.6 million for LA bike projects

Apparently, memorials for dead bike riders are high fashion now.

In a remarkably tone deaf move, haute couture fashion house Dior is working with French BMX maker Bogarde to co-opt the all-white ghost bike look to further their brand.

And no doubt, rake in big bucks from people with too damn much money and too little taste.

The limited edition BMX is due at the end of the month; the only good news is that only 150 of the utterly tasteless Dior bikes will be built.

Maybe their designers saw a few white bicycles chained to the side of the road, and had no idea why they were there.

Or maybe Dior came up with the idea themselves, and didn’t bother to find out that someone else had the idea first, for an entirely different purpose. And that the all-white paint job actually means something far more important than overpriced fashion.

Though you’d think their bike-making partners could have told them.

Let’s just hope Dior wises up at the last minute, and cancels the sale out of an abundance of caution and taste.

Or at least donates all the proceeds to benefit the families of those who died riding their bikes.

Photo is a screen grab from Hypebae.com.

………

Bicyclists in the Malibu Hills are up in arms over plans to reopen the Troutdale bridge on Mulholland Highway this Wednesday.

But only if you’re in a car.

County officials plan to require, or maybe just firmly request, that bike riders dismount and walk across the pedestrian walkway adjacent to the bridge while it is undergoing reconstruction.

Something that would be problematic, to say the least, with the bridge located just beyond a sweeping turn following a steep descent along the popular riding route.

It would also be of questionable legality, since bicyclists are allowed on any road where cars are allowed, with the exception of many limited access highways.

But whether there is an exception for construction zones is unclear at this time.

A lot will depend on just what the traffic signs look like when the bridge reopens.

If they have a yellow background, it’s merely advisory, like the suggested speeds on corners that virtually everyone ignores. But if the signs are white, like a speed limit sign, they carry the force of law, and violators can be ticketed.

Whether those tickets are legal, however, could be up to the courts to decide.

………

Los Angeles has scored two state grants totaling $43.6 million for bicycle and street safety.

The city will get $18.8 for a three-mile section of the LA River bike path in the West San Fernando Valley, as part of the mayor’s Twenty-Eight By ’28 program, to complete a pathway along the full 51-mile length of the LA River by 2025.

The other grant provides $24.8 million for improvements along the Broadway/Manchester corridor in South LA, including bike lanes, along with sidewalk and crosswalk enhancements and other safety projects.

Let’s hope that means bicyclists will finally see the long-promised bike lanes along Manchester that might have spared the life of Frederick “Woon” Frazier.

………

In a bizarre crash, an Irvine bike rider was injured by a hit-and-run driver Saturday night.

The driver stopped after the collision, and his passenger got out to check on the victim.

Then the driver took off, leaving both the injured bike rider and the person who had been in the car with him on the side of the road.

Something tells me he — or she — will have a lot of explaining to do once they get caught.

………

Today’s must-read is a hard-hitting Namibian op-ed that starts out with a clear-eyed look at drivers blaming bicyclists for “minor misdemeanors or violations of road rules to say we ‘asked for’ accidents.”

Then abruptly shifts to an examination of race and privilege, as “black Namibians literally take their lives in their hands every time they head out onto the road.”

It’s more than worth the few minutes it will take to read, if only to get a different perspective from a view most of us seldom see.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

………

A black woman accuses Irish police officers of racism after they tackle her 15-year old brother, apparently for the crime of riding a bicycle.

https://twitter.com/Ciindy_Dasilva/status/1130229305085239296

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

………

Today’s common theme is generosity.

Hundreds of Renton, Washington kids got new bicycles, helmets and a party courtesy of a local church.

After a Nebraska middle school student was hit by a driver while riding his bike, the local police teamed with a bike shop to give him a new one.

After thieves made off with the motorized bicycle a Detroit-area Air Force vet spent months saving for and building, a stranger saw the story on TV, and convinced his coworkers to pitch in to buy the man a new ebike.

A stranger responds to a social media request to replace the adult tricycle used by a Michigan man with special needs to get to work after his was stolen.

………

Local

In a huge victory for advocates of safer streets, LA CD4 Councilmember David Ryu has decided that the road diet and bike lanes on Rowena should stay in place. And recommended that the bike lanes should be extended and converted into protected lanes — an outcome that seemed highly unlikely just a few months ago. You can read Ryu’s full letter here.

A Long Beach bike commuter says the new protected bike lanes on Broadway create more problems than they solve, calling it a horrible experience to ride.

 

State

An estimated 2,300 bike riders and support staff will leave San Francisco in two weeks on their way down the coast to Los Angeles for the 2019 AIDS/LifeCycle Ride.

Unbelievable. A $50,000 settlement from the city confirms that a San Diego cop may have overreacted just a tad when he roughed up a 64-year old bike rider and threw him in the psych ward — all because he ran a stop sign.

Victorville will begin construction on a four-mile separated bike path along Bear Valley Road.

A group of four men and two women with ties to Azusa Pacific University will ride across the US to raise funds for clean water.

Sad news from Paso Robles, where a 70-year old homeless man was found lying dead on railroad tracks next to his bicycle, leading to speculation that he fell and hit his head on the tracks. Police says he wasn’t hit by a train, but are treating the death as suspicious pending an autopsy.

Two Palo Alto neighborhoods are finally connected after the city opened a bike and pedestrian bridge over busy Highway 101.

Forget ghost bikes. Oakland is permanently honoring a fallen bicyclist by renaming the street where he was killed in his honor.

The San Francisco Chronicle serves up Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais — aka Mount Tam — two ways. The hard way, and the less hard way.

 

National

The Wall Street Journal says Trump’s tariffs will mean more pain for the already struggling bicycle industry. As always with the Journal, the usual paywall issues apply.

NPR tackles the same subject, talking with the owner of American bikemaker Detroit Bikes, who relies on imported parts even though the bikes are built in the US.

Bike Index offers tips on how to help recover stolen bikes with a Facebook page.

Bicycling profiles the bike-riding pianist you’ve seen performing in trouble spots around the world, who tows his piano behind his bicycle.

NACTO is teaming with the Natural Resources Defense Council and Delivery Associates to give Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis and Philadelphia a crash course in building out bike infrastructure fast.

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer joins in on Bike to Work Day, proving you can ride a bike in a bow tie.

The Seattle Times takes a look at the city’s deep-rooted bike culture.

Spokane WA gets an unplanned bike and pedestrian bridge after structural engineers ban cars from a 102-year old bridge.

Life is cheap in Montana, where a hit-and-run driver walked with just probation for a crash that paralyzed a bike-riding woman from the waist down; if she fulfills the terms of her probation, the felony conviction will be wiped from her record. Her victim, on the other hand, will serve a life sentence in a wheelchair.

No disconnect here. An Illinois man says a local road is too dangerous for people on bicycles, and it’s not a good idea to ride a bike there. Then adds that drivers pass him way too fast when he does.

No bias here. A Minnesota kid gets right hooked by a school bus turning into a parking lot. So naturally, the kid gets the blame for riding into the bus.

An Indiana triathlete says don’t drive into people on bicycles, after a driver chose to hit him rather than slow down and pass safely.

Nice. Sandusky, Ohio is building a 12-mile bike and pedestrian boardwalk along the city’s waterfront. And yes, with real boards.

DC bike advocates have been fighting for safer streets since Watergate was just a gleam in Richard Nixon’s eye.

Bad enough that a speeding driver killed DC bike advocate David Salovesh a few weeks back; now another speeding driver has murdered the ghost bike put up in his honor.

 

International

An Ottawa op-ed says a hit-and-run driver may have struck a bike rider, but it was bad road engineering that killed him.

You could get a free ebike if you promise to ride it in Europe for 300 to 600 miles in six days.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 96-year old Dutch man rides his ebike up to 22 miles a day — even though he didn’t start riding until he was 65.

The e-scooter invasion of Europe is nearly complete after Germany approves their use on the country’s roads and bike paths, leaving the UK as the continent’s only holdout. Then again, if Britain goes through with Brexit, they’ll sever the ties binding them to Europe anyway.

An Indian city is the latest to get a bicycle mayor to improve it focus on bicycling. Meanwhile Los Angeles still has to make do with the mayor we’ve got.

 

Competitive Cycling

It shouldn’t be a spoiler at this point to point out that race leader Tejay Van Garderen cracked on the steep slopes of Mount Baldy, allowing 20-year old WorldTour rookie Tadej Pogačar to vault to the lead. And ultimately, to victory in the Amgen Tour of California, setting a record for the youngest WorldTour winner.

On the women’s side, Dutch cyclist Anna van der Breggen led start to finish to claim victory in the all-too-brief three stage race.

The LA Times offers a behind the scenes look at the Tour of California, from the perspective of a team director racing behind the peloton.

La Cañada residents turned out to cheer the racers as they sped through the city on Saturday.

Is it a spoiler if Geraint Thomas tells us who will win the Giro in another two weeks?

Former world champ Jack Bobridge won’t be doing any partying for awhile, after being convicted of supplying ecstasy to an undercover cop.

 

Finally…

Commute by towing your foldie behind your foldie, then put the other foldie in the first foldie. Your best bike hack is a $2 pool noodle.

And evidently, there really is a war on bikes. And they’re calling in the Air Force.

 

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