Tag Archive for Long Beach

Paralyzed Long Beach man’s handcycle stolen, dangerous Circle K parking lots, and carrying a kid across China on a bike

July 27, 2020 / / 2 comments

Seriously, what kind of schmuck would steal a disabled man’s handcycle?

Long Beach’s Richard Dahl was paralyzed two years ago, just a month after graduating from college, and used the recumbent bike to take him places his legs no longer can.

According to KABC-7,

Dahl had received the bike through a $6,000 grant.

He says the thief didn’t just steal his bike, but also took part of his independence.

“What this individual stole wasn’t just a bike, it wasn’t just a handcycle, it wasn’t just a $6,000 object, it was my independence. It was my ability to ride,” Dahl said.

Hopefully someone will spot the bike before it gets sold or dismantled.

If not, if anyone wants to start a crowdfunding campaign to buy him a new one, I’ll be happy to feature it here.

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Apparently, shopping at a Circle K convenience store can be bad for your health.

A Colorado man faces a murder charge for a fight that began with a dispute over a gold bicycle in a Circle K parking lot.

And two Florida men are charged with attempted murder for attempting to smash their car into a man on a bicycle after spotting him shopping at Circle K, then shooing him when they caught up with him again.

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Think your cross-country ride was tough?

A Chinese dad took a 71-day bike ride across the country with his young daughter in a child seat.

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

British police are investigating an alleged hate crime where a group of teenagers verbally abused a man riding a bicycle and threw rocks at his bike. Although in typical British fashion, they fail to mention what racial, ethnic, religious and/or sexual group he was being targeted for.

Police in Perth, Australia are looking for a pair of moped riders who pushed a man off his bike on a local bike path.

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

Not every violent assault starts in a convenience store parking lot, though; a British Columbia man got a measly five years for killing another man, stopping his bike to kick the victim in the head with steel-toed boots, in a dispute over encroaching on his preferred panhandling spot.

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Local

Call it yet another LADOT fail. At a time when new bike riders are begging for safe bikeways, the city gives them these sad North Hollywood sharrows — even though there’s more than enough room for a protected bike lane instead. As we’ve noted before, sharrows appear to exist only to help drivers improve their aim.

The Malibu Times wants to introduce you to the wealthy beachside city’s mountain bike-riding mayor.

Long Beach’s Studebaker Road is getting a five-mile long protected bike lane, thanks to funding from Metro.

 

State

The Canyon News looks at California’s bike boom, and says hopefully it won’t take another crisis to get people riding. Although maybe they shouldn’t illustrate a story about LA collisions rising with a photo of a mangled New York police cruiser.

A Bakersfield op-ed says the San Joaquin Valley city benefits from having more people on bicycles, and is lucky to have a robust bicycle network.

Mammoth Mountain wants you to come there to ride your new offroad ebike, opening a new trail for ped-assist mountain bikes.

 

National

At last, a Segway you might actually want to ride. Even if it doesn’t have pedals.

Livestrong offers a step-by-step guide to start riding a bike for people over 50. Although a writer for the Wall Street Journal says it can be hazardous to your dignity. If you can get past the Journal’s paywall, that is. And as if I had any left.

Refinery 29 wants to keep you looking your best on your bike, with eight cool and comfy women’s outfits without a shred of Lycra.

This is why you should always carry ID on your bike. Police in Lone Peak, Utah are struggling to identify a man who was struck by a driver while riding his bike on Saturday.

Gear Patrol recommends buying a premium used bike from Colorado’s online Pro’s Closet marketplace.

That’s more like it. A Montana drunk driver will spend the next eight years behind bars for killing a woman riding her bike while driving home from a Christmas party.

A Montana food distributors organization teamed with the local Rotary club to build and donate 195 bicycles for members of the Crow Nation.

Once again, bike riders are heroes, after a San Antonio TX couple jumped off their bikes to help rescue victims from a burning plane crash.

A 61-year old Minnesota man is riding 6,000 miles from LA to New York to raise funds for breast cancer research.

They get it. A Michigan town is offering residents a $150 rebate on the purchase of an ebike to help the city achieve carbon-neutrality in the next ten years.

A bighearted stranger gave a seven-year old Ohio girl a new bicycle after someone stole hers.

A bike-riding New York priest is planning his first century ride to inspire people and raise funds for a Catholic food pantry.

Probably not the best idea to try to steal a bike cop’s bicycle during dueling pro and anti-police protests in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Kindhearted Savannah, Georgia cops gave a seven-year old boy a new bicycle after Covid-19 cancelled his birthday party.

No, “anger issues” is not an excuse to fight a cop who tried to stop a Florida man for riding his bike into traffic.

 

International

Pez Cycling News looks at the brief rise and fall of spine bikes, made in the early years after the turn of the century with half-carbon/half steel frames. Like my 2004 LeMond, for instance.

How to get the best stopping power from your rim brakes.

Bike Radar makes the case for why you only need a gravel bike.

Four people have been arrested for a hit-and-run crash that injured an off-duty British cop as he was riding his bike, though police say he wasn’t targeted.

A Glasgow paper takes a ride through the city to see what’s changed thanks to the city’s the new bicycling measures.

A massive e-cargo bike is patrolling the streets of The Hague on a mission to collect abandoned plastic products.

Hundreds of Turkish bicyclists rode to call for safer streets after a 19-year old bike rider was killed by a drunk driver.

Bollywood star Sara Ali Khan is one of us. 

Bicycling is up in Delhi, as people respond to the coronavirus crisis by taking to their bicycles.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Tips offers an on-the-ground perspective of how the coronavirus crisis affected bike racing.

The BBC retells the tale of how the Flying Scotsman Graeme Obree became a world record holder on his own homemade bicycle.

 

Finally…

Forget parked cars, now we have to deal with giant saw blades in the bike lane. Your next bike could have a built-in wine cooler and charcuterie board.

And we may have to deal with angry LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about hungry bike-seat eating bears.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Update: Man killed riding his bike in early morning Long Beach hit-and-run; 3rd LA County bike rider killed in hit-and-run in 4 days

July 27, 2020 / / 2 comments

It’s not an epidemic anymore.

It’s a SoCal pandemic.

According to multiple sources, yet another Southern California bike rider lost his life early Sunday morning.

And yet another heartless coward fled the scene, leaving an innocent victim to die in the street.

The Long Beach Police Department reports the victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was riding south on Orange Ave, north of Del Amo Blvd, when he was run down from behind by a southbound driver around 3:20 am.

Despite the efforts of paramedics, he died at the scene, his body coming to rest in the bike lane he was most likely riding in.

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

Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Kelsey Myers or Detective Shawn Loughlin of the LBPD Collision Investigation Detail at 562/570-7355.

This is at least the 36th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the third fatal bicycling hit-and-run in the county in four days.

Exactly one third of those SoCal bike deaths have involved hit-and-run drivers, including five in less than the last two weeks, and eight in the past two months as more people have begun driving again.

This has got to stop.

Now.

Update: The victim has been identified as 30-year old Long Beach resident Dannon Santiago.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Dannon Santiago and his loved ones.

Category: Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

SoCal trails finally reopening, LA traffic cop menaced by Lyft driver, and the war on bikes goes on…and on…and on…

May 8, 2020 / / Comments Off on SoCal trails finally reopening, LA traffic cop menaced by Lyft driver, and the war on bikes goes on…and on…and on…

Things are finally starting to open up a little after nearly two months of coronavirus closures in Southern California.

Los Angeles is reopening parks and trails, except for popular Runyon Canyon and the beachfront bike path.

Long Beach is opening up trails this weekend, with the beach bike path through the city set to open on Monday.

Mountain bike advocacy group CORBA reports that LA County trails will be opening this weekend, after Ventura County trails opened earlier in the week.

While LA beaches remain closed, beaches in San Diego and Orange County are opening up for physical activities only; check to make sure the path or trail you want to ride is open before you go.

Remember to maintain social distancing when you ride, particularly on narrow trails. We’ve already seen how quickly things can be closed if we don’t.

And wear a mask if you’re likely to come near other people.

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This is who we share the roads with.

A Los Angeles traffic cop is suing Lyft, alleging that one of their drivers followed and menaced her, while blocking her car in for several minutes before police arrived.

All because she had the audacity to ticket him for parking in a bike lane.

And to make matters worse, he had a paying passenger in the car the whole time he was losing it and threatening her.

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A webinar later this month will teach advocates how to present a compelling story to help get the word out more effectively.

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

A Portland bike rider was shot in the arm by a road raging driver after tapping on the window of the man’s SUV that was parked in a bike lane.

An Amarillo TX driver is under arrest for intentionally running down a bike rider who tried to intercede in an argument between the driver and a woman.

No bias here. An anonymous, 80-something British letter writer complains about “arrogant self-opinionated (bike) riders who seem to have no regard for others, laws of the Forest or common decency.” There’s no disputing that some bicyclists are jerks — just like any other form of humanity. But painting with such a broad brush doesn’t help anyone.

Someone deliberately sabotaged a British bike trail by burying several nail-spike boards, which could have caused severe injury if a kid walked on the trail or a bike rider fell on them after suffering a flat.

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Local

A former LA city planner says the city’s infrastructure continues to deteriorate, despite fast-tracking street repairs during the coronavirus lockdown.

DTLA’s dangerous 7th Street is set to get temporary protected bike lanes as an interim test for permanent, curb-protected bike lanes down the road. Let’s hope this one has enough barriers to keep drivers from parking in it, like they do in other downtown “protected” lanes.

Bike Walk Glendale calls for Slow Streets in LA’s neighbor to the north. Or east, depending on your perspective.

Let’s hope this report isn’t right. A Santa Clarita bicyclist was busted for riding under the influence, after blowing a red light with a BAC nearly twice the legal limit. An sheriff’s deputy says the bike rider was cited for driving under the influence, which does not apply to people on bicycles; California has a separate law (CVC 21200.5) prohibiting bicycling under the influence, with a maximum fine of $250 and no points against your driver’s license.

Santa Monica responds to Covid-19 budget cuts by slashing nearly 400 staff positions, as well as the city’s Vision Zero and Safe Routes to Schools programs.

 

State

Streetsblog is hosting a virtual walk-or-bike-athon to raise funds for Streetsblog California and the California Association of Foodbanks.

SoCal bicycling guidebook author Richard Fox expounds on the joys of having the pathways of Palm Desert’s closed Desert Willow golf course all to himself.

Once again, authorities have managed to keep a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late. A Porterville teenager is dead, after getting run down on his bike by a 23-year old hit-and-run driver who was already on probation for a previous DUI; the driver had apparently disabled a required interlock device on his car. A DUI arrest is usually the tip of the iceberg; it’s seldom the first time someone has driven drunk, just the first time they got caught. Which is why any DUI should lead to an automatic loss of license.

The executive director of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition says the city is passing up on an opportunity by refusing to install Slow Streets for social distancing. Just like Los Angeles is.

Great idea. San Jose bicyclists will fan out across the city this weekend to distribute flats of seedlings to people in need, so they can begin a vegetable garden.

The San Francisco Ride of Silence scheduled for later this month has been postponed to an undetermined date; no word yet on the status of the LA, Orange and Ventura County rides.

A Vacaville man was busted for bike theft after a bike shop worker spotted him riding a customer’s stolen bicycle.

 

National

Popular Science — yes, it still exists — says Slow Streets not only allow for social distancing, but can prevent traffic surges when cities reopen, and could result in permanent bike-friendly changes. Except in Los Angeles, which is squandering yet another opportunity to improve safety and do something about the city’s crushing traffic and smog.

Lime buys out the competition, and is now the proud owner of Uber’s Jump dockless ebikes and scooters, after the rideshare provider unloaded them to offset a portion of their massive $2.9 billion in losses due to Covid-19.

Cycling Tips talks with the founders of Strava about how it got to be, well, Strava.

VeloNews considers when a bonk could be a sign of a more serious health problem.

Portland has installed the first one hundred traffic diverters for their Slow Streets program. Which is about one hundred more than Los Angeles.

Not only is Seattle installing Slow Streets, but the city is planning to make at least 20 miles of them permanent.

Slow Streets are proving successful in Salt Lake City, as they move forward with closing additional streets for bike and pedestrian traffic.

Bruce Willis’ six-year old daughter is now one of us, too, after learning how to ride from her half-sister Rumor while the mixed family isolates in Idaho.

They get it. The Houston Chronicle calls for more bike lanes for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

St. Paul MN business owners lost a fight to delay installation of a new bike lane, arguing that the parking spaces that would be lost are needed for take-out customers and delivery drivers during the coronavirus crisis. For a change, they may have a point; while bikes are good for retail businesses — especially bars and restaurants — it helps if they’re actually open to the public.

An occasional bike rider discovers how helpful bicyclists can be, when not one, not two, but three separate Good Samaritans stop to help when he suffered double flats on a Missouri bike trail.

Seriously? A nine-year old Palm Beach kid gets the blame for the crash that killed him; authorities claimed he was momentarily distracted before riding his bike into a construction front loader — even though he managed to leave a five-foot skid mark on the sidewalk. After all, no tractor driver would ever miss a little kid on the sidewalk before turning in front of him, right?

 

International

The demand for bicycles has spiked around the world, both real and stationary. And yes, I did resist the temptation to say pretend.

Apparently, wealthy people are panic buying Pelotons. But don’t forget the indoor cycling shoes. Yes, that’s a thing now. Really.

For those of us with somewhat smaller budgets, Road.cc rates fourteen of the best indoor turbo trainers.

A British Columbia writer proposes paying people not to drive to keep traffic from roaring back once the lockdown ends.

An English cop has been suspended for punching a black bike rider after accusing him of stealing his own bicycle, even though it wasn’t the same color as the missing bike; the same cop kicked a boy in the head a day later.

British world heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury is one of us, too.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is proclaiming a new Golden Age of cycling, promising full details over the weekend.

A Korean bicyclist is sheltering in Guinea for the next several months after getting caught in the country during the coronavirus outbreak, two years into a round-the-world bike tour — and is shunned by hotels because he is Asian.

A stoned New Zealand driver was sentenced to a measly 26 months in jail for killing a bike rider, nine years after her own son was killed by a drunk driver. Apparently, she didn’t learn anything from her own experience.

A little Aussie boy escapes his dad’s grasp and rides out directly into the path of a roadie, taking them both out.

 

Finally…

Play a little virtual bike tag while you’re under lockdown. Do your next club ride on a rare mid-2000s Colnago time trial bike, or maybe a brand new 1995 BMX.

And nothing to see here. Just Spider-Man on a Penny Farthing.

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A belated and heartfelt thank you to Mark J for his unexpected Giving Tuesday donation to help support this site. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything, so it came as major morale boosting surprise. 

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Killer drunk driver walks free after 23 days, racist bike-hater gets probation, and 1/2 mile extension for Chandler Bikeway

March 2, 2020 / / Comments Off on Killer drunk driver walks free after 23 days, racist bike-hater gets probation, and 1/2 mile extension for Chandler Bikeway

My thanks to everyone who sent me links over the weekend.

Because of today’s overstuffed post, and the need to sleep sometime tonight, I’ll try to catch up on the rest tomorrow. 

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This is why people keep dying on our streets.

A Long Beach man got a gentle caress on the wrist — not even a slap — for killing a man in a wheelchair while driving drunk, escaping with just a one-year sentence for taking the life of another human being.

Then was let out of jail after just 23 days, thanks to overcrowding at the LA County Jail.

Yes, 23 days.

Less than one lousy month. Barely over three weeks, in fact.

Which sends a strong message to anyone else thinking of getting behind the wheel after drinking.

Just go ahead and do it, because no one will hold you accountable.

Even if you kill someone.

Photo by EVG photos from Pexels.

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Seriously, what the hell is wrong with some people?

A racist Oregon scumbag walked with just probation — and well-deserved anger management — for threatening to blow a 14-year old boy’s head off.

Why?

Because he rode his bike in front of the man’s house.

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Good news from Burbank, where officials plan to extend the popular Chandler Bikeway half a mile to connect the downtown Burbank Metrolink station with the Burbank Channel Bikeway, which is currently being built.

The bad news is, it could be over four years before anyone can ride the finished extension.

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Looks like Los Angeles may be inching closer to closing the Northvale Gap in the Expo Line Bike Path.

Which wouldn’t exist if Metro and the city hadn’t caved to a handful of NIMBY homeowners who were afraid thieves would ride bikes up to their homes to steal their flatscreen TVs.

No, really.

Because apparently, criminals don’t drive. And couldn’t accomplish the same thing by just driving up to their front doors.

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Why is it that bike safety goes out the window whenever someone wants to make a movie in Los Angeles?

https://twitter.com/iivansanz/status/1233448609158352897

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KNBC-4 says CicLAvia revealed the map for next month’s Mid City Meets Venice event.

Yet somehow, they failed to include said map in their story.

We won’t make the same mistake.

That will be followed by a return to Glendale in June, as we mentioned a few weeks ago.

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LA’s own Phil Gaimon is the topic of the latest video from GCN video, as he joins the team in an effort to win a Dixie Canyon KOM.

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This is who we share the bike lane with.

https://twitter.com/colinridesabike/status/1232516410099798019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1232516410099798019&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F271577-video-rentacop-armed-nyc-security-guard-wrestles-cyclist-ground-paris-brest

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At least he used the crosswalk.

Even though it took forever for anyone to actually stop for it.

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This one made my day, for obvious reasons.

https://twitter.com/humorandanimals/status/1233402238741209088

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

A Texas man was busted for riding his bicycle through the halls of an Amarillo high school while making terroristic thefts.

A Tennessee man got 44 years without parole for murdering two teenagers by shooting them after a brief argument behind a Memphis business, then riding away on his bicycle.

Pittsburgh police are looking for a man who tried to rob a woman, then chased her on his bike as she tried to run away.

A British driver complains that a mountain biker plowed into his car as he was stopped at a red light, then brutally attacked him when he got out to see if the bike rider was okay, while a young boy begged the attacker to stop. Although something tells me there might be another side to the story in which the driver is not wholly innocent.

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Local

The Los Feliz Ledger looks at the Sunset4All campaign to add a two-way protected bike lane on Sunset Blvd; the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council voted unanimously to support the project, despite the possible loss of some parking.

A Highland Park man says switching to an ebike for his LA to Long Beach commute freed him from the tyranny of traffic, if not unpleasant odors.

Los Angeles-based Wheels is the latest dockless micromobility provider to lay off staff, as the industry struggles for profitability.

Food trucks are so last decade. A new eco-friendly chickpea bowl food bike will start making the rounds of the Westside, mounted on an ebike that recharges with pedaling. 

If you build it, they will come. Nothing like a new 1,500 space parking garage on the Cal State Northridge campus to encourage students and faculty to drive to the school. But at least it includes bicycle and scooter storage.

Santa Clarita is looking for input on the city’s new Non-Motorized Transportation Plan.

The replacement for the Desmond Thomas Bridge will open later next year, along with the first bike lane across the harbor; now the bridge just needs a name. How about naming it for Mark Bixby, the Long Beach community leader and bike advocate who fought for that bike lane on the bridge before he was killed in a 2011 plane crash?

 

State

Finally, a sentence even I think might be a tad excessive. A San Clemente woman got the maximum sentence, as a judge gave her 51 years to life for a collision that killed three teenagers in another car while she was driving at three times the legal limit.

San Diego will install leading pedestrian intervals at 300 intersections to improve safety. Now they just need to allow bikes to go the same time as pedestrians to improve safety for everyone. 

Cute photo of a Santa Cruz ebike rider taking his two collies for a ride along the beach.

A San Jose driver copped a plea in the death of a 62-year old bike rider last July in exchange for a four-year sentence.

More proof that permanent street closures often don’t affect traffic flows, as a new study shows that banning cars from San Francisco’s Market Street resulted in virtually no spillover traffic on nearby streets, while improving travel times for bikes and buses, which are still allowed.

City Lab questions why a San Francisco bike shop owner would protest plans for a protected bike lane in front of his shop; just wait until he learns about a proposal to shut the street down entirely.

 

National

Curbed explains how to fix America’s broken intersections.

About time. Ford has developed a warning system to alert drivers to approaching bike riders to prevent doorings. Now let’s make it mandatory for every new car and truck.

A writer for Wired explains why, after years of loving cars, he decided he just didn’t want to drive anymore, and now rides a bike everywhere.

Jeep’s new fat tire, all-terrain ebike is now on sale, if you happen to have nearly six grand lying around.

A Vancouver WA paper says bike lanes and safety are great, but they’d rather have the 400 parking spaces that would have to be removed for them; needless to say, they’re not the only ones who prefer car storage over the safety of their fellow human beings.

An off-duty Border Patrol agent is credited with saving the life of an Arizona bike rider who was hit by a driver, using his training as a certified paramedic.

They get it. A Denver magazine says focusing on whether a bike rider was wearing a helmet following a crash is a form of victim blaming, and has to stop.

Some people just don’t get it. A St. Paul letter writer says no one can commute or carry groceries on a bike, and people will stop riding when they get older. All of which is refuted by people who do it every day.

Rochester, Minnesota is giving away 100 bicycles left over from a failed bikeshare service to people in need.

It only took New York drivers 24 hours to obliterate the newly installed bollards intended to keep them out of a protected bike lane.

No surprise here. Bicycling examined crash data from New York, and discovered when drivers make mistakes, people on bicycles too often pay the price.

DC considers a proposal that would require transportation equity by forcing employers who subsidize parking to offer an equal benefit or cash payout to people who don’t drive.

A Georgia grand jury will hear evidence in a fatal hit-and-run that took the life of a man riding his bike, after the driver called a state legislator and the local police chief instead of calling 911, and no one reported the crash or looked for the victim until it was too late.

 

International

A new study confirms what most of us already know. The more expensive a car is, the less likely the driver is to stop for pedestrians. Or anyone else. Or put another way, the more likely they are to drive like self-entitled jerks.

A new report from the International Transport Forum concludes that 80% of bicycling and e-scooters fatalities involve motor vehicles and the people who drive them. And traffic safety will improve if car, truck and motorcycle trips are replaced by scooters and bikes.

Fallen mountain biker Jordie Lunn will have a Vancouver Island bike park named in his honor. Meanwhile, a new report says the city must build safer bike lanes to get more people riding. Even though it’s already head-and-shoulders beyond cities like Los Angeles.

In a story that could have come from virtually anywhere in North America, a Winnipeg student newspaper says the city is all talk and no action when it comes to preventing bike thefts.

London is dropping speed limits to 20 mph in areas of the city used most by pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. Which compares to speeds of 45 mph or more on some LA streets.

When British Olympic hopeful Ashton Lambie came up short, he took a bikepacking trip across the UK in search of the soul of bicycling. Which might be better, anyway.

No surprise here. A new report says two out of three bicycling crashes involving Belgian teenagers occur on roadways with no bicycling infrastructure.

Always double check your mailing addresses. A Catalan doping ring was busted when someone shipped a package to the wrong address; police seized 1.65 million doses of performance enhancing drugs worth the equivalent of nearly $1.3 million.

After police in a village outside of Hyderabad, India sent a serial rapist to prison with a death sentence, they gave new bicycles to 15 school girls for their safety.

Life is cheap in Zimbabwe, where an unlicensed driver walked with a lousy $900 fine for killing a bike rider after losing control of his vehicle — and two-thirds of that was for the license violation, not killing another human being.

Talk about a special place in hell. Heartless Aussie scam artists set up a fake crowdfunding page claiming to raise funds for a woman who died after being thrown from her bike.

 

Competitive Cycling

Congratulations to the US Women’s Pursuit Team on winning the world championships in Berlin last week, making them the favorites for the Tokyo Olympics.

Call her the fastest woman on two wheels. America’s Chloe Dygert broke her own record in the individual pursuit. Then broke it again to take the gold.

Cycling’s governing body announced an investigation into sexual abuse allegations against the Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport women’s cycling team.

The COVID-19 coronavirus hit the cycling world hard on Thursday when the UAE Tour was halted with two stages still to go after two Italians tested positive for the virus; race leader Adam Yates was declared the winner. British Tour de France winners Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish are among those being tested before being allowed to leave the country.

The Wall Street Journal considers the forthcoming effects of the new coronavirus on pro cycling, if you can get past their paywall.

Temper, temper. Italian cyclist Gianni Moscon got the boot from Sunday’s Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne race after throwing a temper tantrum — and a competitors bike — following a mass crash. He followed that by ripping up his number when he was DQ’d. And it was far from his first time.

 

Finally…

Who needs a dog sled when you’ve got two fat tires? When you’re riding your bike with four outstanding warrants, maybe try riding with traffic next time.

And maybe there are better hobbies than collecting 5,800 stolen bike seats.

Just saying.

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

Morning Links: LA misses newest list of US bike-friendly cities, best bike helmets, and All City Toy Ride on Friday the 13th

December 11, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: LA misses newest list of US bike-friendly cities, best bike helmets, and All City Toy Ride on Friday the 13th

No surprise here.

A day after Los Angeles — which was named America’s worst bike city just one year ago — was inexplicably ranked 20th on a list of the world’s most bike-friendly cities, it didn’t even make the top ten American cities in another.

But Long Beach did.

According to real estate site Redfin, Minneapolis lead the list of the most bikeable cities in the US, followed by Portland, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco.

All of which have been busy building connected bikeway networks.

Then again, so have the others on the list. Including Long Beach, which checked in at number ten.

So while it hasn’t yet accomplished its goal of being America’s most bike-friendly city, Long Beach — by far the smallest city on the list — is getting there, at least by some standards.

And continues to lap its much larger neighbor to the north.

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Let’s talk bike helmets in the news.

LA-based Wheels e-scooters will now come with a bike helmet built into the frame, complete with a disposable liner to theoretically protect from whatever the previous user had in his or her hair. I’ll pass, thanks.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech has come out with their latest list of the top ten bike helmets, based on rigorous testing. And finds that MIPS rules the roost, but Bontrager’s WaveCel isn’t far behind.

Dr. Oz jumps on the bike helmet bandwagon, saying 541,000 bicyclists were treated for head injuries between 2014 and 2017.

Just to clarify, I always wear a helmet when I ride. But I never forget that bike helmets are designed to protect against slow-speed falls, not getting hit by a speeding driver in an SUV. And should always be seen as the last line of defense when all else fails.

Not the first.

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LA’s annual Midnight Ridazz toy ride will roll this weekend, making Friday the 13th a lucky day for kids who might not otherwise get a toy for the holidays.

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Forget the impeachment.

Clearly, the biggest year-end news remains that infamous Peloton ad. Which just won’t go away, no matter how much we close our eyes and click our heels together.

The actress who will forever be known as the Peloton Wife says she feels very lucky, and people have been so nice since the whole ad controversy broke. Unlike the way the Peloton Husband has been treated, who just hopes it won’t kill his acting career.

A CNN writer, and “hooked” Peloton user, considers it just a faux controversy.

The company’s stock dropped 6% yesterday to $32.55 after a short-selling analyst said it’s only worth $5 a share.

And with tongue placed firmly in cheek, Elle says the biggest snub in Monday’s Golden Globes nominations was the lack of noms for the entire Peloton Wife Cinematic Universe.

Now, can this all just please go away? Pretty please?

………

Who says Contador has lost it?

Although his win may be given to Schleck in a few years pending dope tests.

………

‘Tis the Season.

An unknown urbanist guerrilla secretly decorated a Chicago protected bike for the holidays.

The “Bike Man” of Springfield MA has dedicated whatever time he has left to building bikes for kids after being diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease from his work as a bouncer; he’s given away over 1,400 bicycles, including a custom-made bike for a girl with dwarfism.

A North Carolina woman will give away nearly 1,500 bikes, continuing the tradition her late husband started 30 years ago.

An Alabama rural health association will team with a bank to give away 100 bikes to kids next week.

Runner’s World considers the best gifts for the bike rider in your life. Which means Bicycling will probably be out with a gift list for runners any day.

And the San Diego Chargers of Los Angeles once again played bike Santa for some LA kids.

………

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

A Wichita KS bike rider hopped off his bike to write a racial slur in the middle of a residential street before riding off. But at least the racist jerk did it in chalk.

………

Looks like the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive is still going strong.

So let me offer a heartfelt thank you to Paul F, Nina M and Dennis E for their generous donations to the fund drive.

Your support helps ensure all the best bike news and advocacy will keep coming your way every day!

………

Local

A ghost bike will be placed Thursday night for the man killed in a collision while riding his bike at Victory and Kester in Van Nuys last week.

The mother of fallen bicyclist Frederick “Woon” Frazier will host a protest walk on Saturday to remember her son and demand solutions to hit-and-runs.

A new interactive map shows LA’s most dangerous areas for pedestrians, with pedestrian injuries and deaths skyrocketing in the five years since Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Vision Zero, but failed to implement it. The same streets usually correspond with the most dangerous places for bike riders, as well.

CiclaValley takes a video ride along DTLA’s new Main Street protected bike lanes.

Los Angeles is handing the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority responsibility for maintaining and patrolling the LA River Bike Path through the West San Fernando Valley, replacing a jumble of jurisdictions as part of a pilot program.

A Long Beach man was hospitalized in stable condition after his bike was struck by a hit-and-run driver in a stolen car; police found the vehicle after the driver ditched it in an alley and walked away.

 

State

The LA Times says maybe the reason Californians can’t drive is because they can’t decipher the DMV’s confusing driver’s handbook.

Caltrans new executive director says his primary goal is improving safety, followed by a switch to multimodalism.

Donate just five bucks to support San Diego trails, and you would win a free Canyon Strive mountain bike courtesy of Canyon, the Belgian Waffle Ride, and the San Diego Mountain Biking Association.

Opening a new front in the never-ending battle against induced demand, a Lake Elsinore freeway interchange will get a $45 million expansion. But at least they’ve got the good sense to improve walkways and bike lanes as part of the work.

Who says bike riders aren’t tough? After a Sunnyvale man suffered a non-life threatening injury in a drive-by shooting, police found him half a mile from the crime scene because he kept riding, despite the injury.

A Palo Alto columnist says Idaho Stop or not, you’re putting your life at risk by riding through stop signs or red lights — especially without lights on your bike.

A San Francisco bike shop plans to reopen in a week or so after it was damaged in a strip mall fire early Friday morning, along with another shop.

Sad news from Empire, where a 27-year old man was killed when he rode around railroad crossing arms in the fog and was struck by an Amtrak train. One more tragic reminder to never go around lowered crossing arms, even if you don’t see a train. They’re down for a reason.

 

National

City Lab says carfree streets will soon be the norm. We can only hope.

Paul Reubens — aka Pee-wee Herman — is going on tour next year to mark the 35th anniversary of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, including stops at the Wiltern in Los Angeles next February, as well as in San Diego and San Francisco.

Outside honors their Outsiders of the Year, including teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and American world mountain biking champ Kate Courtney.

The late Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volker was one of us, riding his bike across Europe instead of writing his doctoral thesis while attending the London School of Economics in the 1950s.

Condo shoppers in Chicago, Minneapolis and Portland are considering the building’s bikeability as the determining factor before buying.

Boise, Idaho mountain bikers got a shiny new bike park for Christmas this year, complete with double black diamond trails.

A Milwaukee bike burglar was busted for multiple break-ins to steal bicycles, including hitting a bike co-op dedicated to providing repairs and jobs for youths four times.

Seriously? An apparently well-meaning Minnesota college student says it’s time to study the problem of distracted bicycling. Trust me, that’s not what’s killing them.

No surprise here, as a new study from Queens NY shows that women are more likely to bike if there’s a protected bike lane.

A writer for Patch in Pennsylvania confirms the site’s lack of veracity, by saying Vision Zero isn’t working because its primary goal is to increase daytime traffic congestion. Um, no. And Los Angeles and Chicago weren’t the first cities to adopt it, either.

 

International

A writer for London’s Independent newspaper says Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative party claims to support bicycling, but their platform suggests just the opposite.

Stranded in London overnight, a tourist rented a bikeshare bike and rode it 67 miles around the city, visiting 25 landmarks in eight hours.

An English bike rider says he survived a sudden heart attack while riding thanks to some Good Samaritans and a nearby defibrillator.

A British rider rented a three-geared bikeshare bike, drove 680 miles to France, rode it up the legendary Alpe d’Huez and returned it to the docking station, all within 24 hours.

Thieves backed a truck up to a UK bike shop and made off with 60 new bikes, many still in the box.

She gets it. A Dublin, Ireland writer says the city has to make alternatives to driving into the city more attractive to commuters. More proof that the problems, and the solutions, are the same all over the world.

Your next custom bicycle could come from a 100-year old Parisian bespoke bikemaker. I mean, just in case anyone has me on their Secret Santa list this year.

Amsterdam’s bike mayor says bicycling can save the world.

An Aussie mom-to-be says she’s still biking to work while eight months pregnant, despite the comments of concerned onlookers.

Fortune considers the rapid rise and fall of China’s bikeshare companies. And says you might want to consider those lessons before investing in the country’s artificial intelligence startups.

 

Competitive Cycling

Sprinting great Mark Cavendish will be looking to regain his former speed with the newly-unveiled Bahrain-McLaren cycling team, after the famed sports car builder took half ownership of the team. Maybe this will help.

Oregon’s Bicycle Racing Association will allow a board member accused of “pervasive transphobia” to keep his position.

 

Finally…

Once again, if you’re carrying coke, meth and weed in your coat, put a damn light on your bike. No, really, if you’re carrying meth, pain killers and a metal club in your backpack, don’t hand your bicycle to someone fleeing the police on foot.

And it appears the well-dressed manatee will not be wearing a bicycle tire this holiday season.

 

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

Morning Links: Unmaintained Long Beach bike lane, and riding the newly threatened Yucca Street bike boulevard

November 20, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Unmaintained Long Beach bike lane, and riding the newly threatened Yucca Street bike boulevard

Richard Rosenthal notes one of my long standing complaints, accompanied by the photo on the left.

Cities construct protected bike lanes with great fanfare, then promptly lose interest in maintaining them.

There are brand-new bike lanes on Marina Drive at the 2nd & PCH Center in Long Beach. I ride down the center of that street with the cars rather than being in that debris-filled chute.

Simply put, it’s not enough for cities to build a bikeway, then forget all about it.

They have to be maintained on a regular basis, with particular attention paid to problems affecting that particular bike lane.

Like fallen palm fronds, for instance.

Even in a city as bike-friendly as Long Beach.

Because objects that would simply be a bump for someone on four wheels can be a major hazard to someone on two.

………

CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew takes a not-so coincidental ride along the newly threatened Yucca Street Bicycle Boulevard.

As we noted Monday, a motion before the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council would remove a key traffic diverter from Yucca Street in Hollywood, still LA’s lone bicycle boulevard.

You can voice your opinion at tonight’s board meeting starting at 6 pm at the Will and Ariel Durant Branch Library on Sunset Blvd just west of La Brea.

Or you can email your comments, though I’m told they will only be seen by the board president, and only be read at the meeting if there’s time remaining after the comments, which is pretty unlikely.

………

The LACBC is pulling the plug on today’s bike light giveaway in Koreatown.

………

Costa Mesa councilmember Arlis Reynolds invites you to bring your whole family to this Sunday’s Turkey Trot cyclocross race. Including the dog.

Even if you’re just ‘cross curious.

………

Local

Westbound Rowena Ave through Los Feliz and Silver Lake will face partial closures through December 6th, then be closed entirely on December 7th for work on water pipes.

LAist says LA’s most DIY cafe meets in a small park along the LA River every Wednesday morning, with rocks for seating and BYO coffee and snacks.

Santa Monica-based Bird wants you to wear a helmet when you ride their scooters, so they’re offering free ride credits when you post a selfie wearing a helmet.

Long Beach is fighting the current docked bikeshare retrenchment with plans to expand into North Long Beach.

 

State

A recent landslide means a section of the San Clemente Trail in Orange County will be closed for the foreseeable future.

San Diego’s ambitious bike network is already a year behind schedule and $79 million over budget, with only nine of the planned 77 miles completed.

A San Luis Obispo developer is doubling the width of a bike path and replacing the asphalt with longer-lasting concrete, as a condition for building a new 580-unit housing and commercial development project.

Palo Alto is finally ready to start construction on a long delayed bike and pedestrian bridge, which has nearly doubled in cost over the past five years.

Sad news from San Mateo County, where a bike rider was killed in an apparent collision on Monday.

Streetsblog offers photos from the first day of the newly opened Richmond-San Rafael Bridge bike path, stretching six miles over the San Francisco Bay.

 

National

Australia’s Bolt Bikes is coming to the US, offering an ebike subscription model allowing you to start riding for $39 a week, with a rent-to-own option for $49. Though they may run into copyright problems with Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt’s Bolt Scooters. 

Lime’s head of sustainability says we need to rethink how we move around our cities — starting with using more pollution-free e-scooters, of course.

Bicycling says if you’re riding for fitness, you need to ride smarter, not more.

An Oregon website offers a surprisingly practical — and affordable — holiday price guide for the bike rider on your list, ranging from extra tubes and wool socks to a new WaveCel helmet. Or you could just buy them a subscription to BikinginLA.com. No, wait, it’s already free. But still. 

Las Vegas investigators are using DNA to search for a girl who disappeared while riding her bike in 1999 when she seven years old, which would make her 29 now.

A new study from Brigham Young University concludes that ped-assist ebikes allow you to ride faster and farther with less exertion, encouraging more people to ride a bike.

A second Chicago bike rider has been killed along a dangerous stretch of road where local aldermen have blocked long-standing plans for a bike lane because “the community” doesn’t want it. Sounds like Los Angeles, where councilmembers block bike lanes based on the whims of a handful of residents.

An editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times says the city needs to invest in making the streets safer for people on bikes.

Completing our Chicago triptych, the police walked back a victim-blaming statement, saying the death of a bike rider at the hands of an unlicensed and uninsured driver had nothing to do with where he was riding on the wide, high speed street.

New York’s mayor signs a bill authorizing 250 miles of protected bike lanes and 150 miles of bus lanes.

A New York news service says everyone wants safer streets, but no one wants to change the way they get around.

Apparently, DC isn’t Copenhagen, either.

That’s more like it. A South Carolina man gets 20 years behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run that killed a man on a bicycle, followed by a second DUI just a week later; his victim was a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing.

A Florida bike cop faces charges for allegedly smashing the windshield of a passing car with a two-by-four while on patrol duty.

 

International

Shimano’s trying to make your derailleur obsolete.

A Toronto shop owner says she’s looking forward to a protected bike lane being extended to her area, because she knows bikes are good for business.

London may be making major improvements in bicycling infrastructure, but Strava says it isn’t Britain’s leading bike city.

A “Mini Holland” pilot project in London’s Walthamstow neighborhood has reduced traffic in the surrounding area by 10,000 trips a day, with a big jump in people walking and bicycling.

Bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid says maybe building British bikeways out of wood chips isn’t so crazy after all.

Aussie food delivery riders are getting stiffed to the tune of up to $322 a week. Although that’s just $219 in US dollars.

A new Australian study show a typical Melbourne bike commuter is subjected to dangerous passes by drivers an average three times on their way to work.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews examines how Gen Z cyclists like Remco Evenepoel and Egan Bernal are changing pro cycling.

Virginia’s Sika Henry intends to become the first African American female pro triathlete.

The New York Times attends the funeral of 83-year old French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor.

British pro cyclist Adam Kenway says he was very lucky to survive a crash with a van driver while he was riding his bike home from work.

 

Finally…

If you’re riding a stolen $3,000 mountain bike, probably not the best idea to tell strangers it’s hot. When you’re carrying a handful of stolen credit card numbers on your bike and already have an outstanding drug warrant, just stop for the damn stop sign, already.

And don’t wait 86 years for your first bike ride.

Seriously.

 

 

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

Update: Man walking bicycle across Redondo Ave struck and killed by two drivers; 5th Long Beach bike death of 2019

September 27, 2019 / / One comment

A man was killed when he was struck by two drivers while walking his bike across the street in Long Beach.

Or maybe three, since Long Beach authorities were quick to throw him under the bus.

According to a press release from the Long Beach Police Department, the victim, who was originally thought to be riding his bike, was struck around 6:20 am Thursday near the intersection of Redondo Ave and 11th Street.

He was crossing southbound Redondo, and had stopped in the left lane to wait for traffic to clear when he was struck by the driver of an SUV, and knocked into the left lane on the other side.

A driver headed in the opposite direction swerved around him, before he was hit by the driver of a second car as he lay in the roadway.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, despite efforts to save him.

Both drivers remained at the scene. A police spokesman said neither driver was intoxicated, and weren’t distracted by their cellphones.

However, there is also no way of knowing if the drivers were distracted without examining their phones, which requires a warrant. And there are many other forms of distraction, which may or may not have contributed to the crash.

A story from the Long Beach Post reports that the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was allegedly crossing the street illegally in low light conditions, according to unnamed authorities.

The reports are unclear exactly where the victim was crossing the street, saying only that it was somewhere south of 11th.

However, according to CVC 21955, the prohibition against crossing mid block only applies if there is a traffic signal at both ends of the block. In this case, there is a traffic light on 10th, but not on 11th.

So it’s hard to understand how the victim could have broken the law by simply crossing the street.

Anyone with information is urged to call LBPD Det. Allen Duncan at 562/570-7355.

This is at least the 52nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 24th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. It’s also the fifth bicycling death in Long Beach, in what is turning out to be a very bloody year for the city.

Update: The victim has been identified as 59-year old Mike Yanis, who was homeless. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Mike Yanis and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Michael Muhammad for the heads-up.

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

Man killed riding bicycle on 405 Freeway in Long Beach; fifth Long Beach bike death this year

September 14, 2019 / / 4 comments

Once again, someone has been killed trying to ride a bicycle on a Southern California freeway.

According to the Long Beach Post, a 39-year old man was riding a bicycle in the auxiliary lane of the northbound 405 Freeway in Long Beach around 10 pm on Friday.

As he approached Woodruff Ave, he was struck by a car driven by an 83-year-old Long Beach man.

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

The Long Beach Report explains that the auxiliary lane is added to a freeway to allow drivers to speed up or slow down to get on or off.

There’s no word on why the victim was riding on a limited-access highway where bicycles are prohibited, and the driver would have no reason to expect one. And no word on whether the victim had lights on his bike, although the freeway itself should have been lighted.

This is at least the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 22nd that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. It’s also the fifth bicyclist killed in Long Beach this year.

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

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

82-year old Long Beach man dies after crash on Los Coyotes Diagonal; 4th Long Beach bike death this year

September 8, 2019 / / One comment

On Friday, we mentioned that an 82-year old man was critically injured while riding his bike on deadly Los Coyotes Diagonal in Long Beach.

Sadly, news broke on Saturday that the victim has died.

According to the earlier story, the elderly man, publicly identified only as a Long Beach resident, was struck by a driver near the intersection of Los Coyotes Diagonal and Clark Ave around noon Thursday.

He was transported to a local hospital with injuries to his upper body.

A press release from the Long Beach Police Department places the time of the crash as 11:55 am, and moves the location slightly north to Los Coyotes Diagonal north of Stearns Street.

The victim was riding east across Los Coyotes Diagonal when he was struck by a driver in the left northbound lane.

He may have simply been trying to cross the nightmare of an intersection, where two major streets transect the massive six-lane boulevard, when he ran out of time to get all the way across.

The 19-year old driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. The police say he was not impaired or distracted at the time of the crash.

Something they wouldn’t know for certain unless they had examined his phone; it’s not clear if they have actually done that, or are simply taking his word.

However, in this case, blame can most likely be placed on a street and intersection that is simply not designed for fragile human lives.

Anyone with information is urged to call Long Beach Police Detective Allen Duncan at 562/570-7355, or call anonymously to 800/222-8477.

This is at least the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 21st that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

It’s also at least the fourth traffic-related bicycling fatality in Long Beach since the first of the year, and the second on Los Coyotes Diagonal, in what has been a horrible year for LA County’s second largest city; another man died while competing in a Long Beach bike race last month.

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

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Downey man dies after crashing in Long Beach masters race; victim identified as Beverly Hills teacher Gerry Gutierrez

August 29, 2019 / / 10 comments

Sadly, we got yet another tragic reminder today that bike racing can be a dangerous sport.

And this time, it happened in our own back yard.

The following notice went out Thursday from the El Dorado Race Series by Bikeable Communities, via email and Facebook.

Tuesday at the El Dorado Race Series in Long Beach.

We are deeply saddened to report that our friend and colleague Gerry Gutierrez passed away earlier today.

We know that everyone in our community is saddened at this incredible loss and want to give heart felt condolences to his wife, Stephanie, to his entire family and his many many friends. He truly was a very special member of our community and a beloved family man.

When available we will post any information on a memorial and a location where people can post their condolences and comments about this wonderful and much loved man.

Then there was this in an email from Allyson Vought.

Sadly, Gerry had a crash in the Masters race on the first lap at El Dorado her in Long Beach for reasons yet to be revealed and he never regained consciousness.

I and many others had the great pleasure to know Gerry from our group rides together, and he was a great rider with a warm and engaging soul. His Pop’s, Gerry Gutierrez Sr. was a racer from the 90’s at Eldo as well, and had JUST returned to riding from much prompting from Jr. 

According to Gerry Gutierrez’ Facebook page, he lived in Downey and worked as physical education teacher in Beverly Hills.

Gutierrez posted this from the previous week’s El Dorado race on Facebook.

It was his final post.

 

Unfortunately, no other information is available at this time. Hopefully, we’ll get more details soon.

This is at least the 44th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 18th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Gerry Gutierrez and all his family and loved ones.

Thanks to Allyson Vought and Danny Gamboa for the heads-up.

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