Tag Archive for Los Angeles

Vermont Ave bike commuters deserve safe multimodal route, and someone finally takes an anti-bike booby trap seriously

July 7, 2025 / / One comment
Day 188 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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He gets it.

A Substack writer considers the bike commuters who ride LA’s Vermont Avenue, as Jonathan Hale argues they “deserve a multimodal transit artery done right.”

Taisha was riding on the sidewalk. There are no bike lanes along Vermont north of Gage Avenue. I asked her why she liked riding a bicycle around Los Angeles.

“You know, it’s quicker, it’s easy to get around,” she said. “It gives me peace of mind.”

“You ever been hit by a car?” I asked, keeping an eye on the evening mayhem in my periphery.

“Absolutely!” she exclaimed, laughing. “Yeah, everybody gets hit by cars. It’s always a victim of someone looking left and turning right. Always.”

Hale continues by pointing out that Metro is building bus rapid transit lanes on the corridor, without considering the need of people like her and others he spoke with.

And LA doesn’t seem to care.

The city of Los Angeles, meanwhile, has looked the other way, refusing to collaborate with Metro to build a truly multimodal transit corridor – even though the city is legally required to fund the project under Measure HLA. That’s why local activist Joe Linton has sued the city, alleging that Los Angeles has shirked its legal responsibility to make roadway improvements in accordance with its Mobility Plan 2035.

It’s more than worth a few minutes of your day to read the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Dr. Grace Peng points out that it’s personal for her, too.

The Vermont protected bike lane through South LA to Del Amo is personal. It connects the J line Harbor Gateway Transit Center to 99 Ranch on Artesia. What places could you go on a Vermont Ave protected bike lane? @bikinginla.bsky.social

— Dr Grace Peng (@gspeng.bsky.social) 2025-07-03T19:16:03.192Z

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That’s more like it.

A 23-year old man from Osaka, Japan have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and obstructing traffic for stringing a rope across a city street, causing a bike rider to fall and strike his head.

About damn time someone, anywhere, took a booby trap like that seriously, treating it the dangerous, potentially deadly assault it is, instead of just a harmless prank.

Thanks to Megan for the heads-up.

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Gravel Bike California celebrates its 6th anniversary by delving even deeper into the darkest dens of the Angeles Forest.

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

No bias here. The Encinitas city council approved contracts for bicycle education programs from grade school to high school — but ordered city staffers to ensure they weren’t teaching “political” pro-bike propaganda.

A North Vancouver, British Columbia city councilor is calling for mandatory bells on every bike, even though drivers can’t hear them, and pedestrians don’t know what to do if they do.

Clearly suffering from a severe case of windshield bias, a member of the Irish parliament demanded that the country’s Transportation Ministry consider making hi-viz jackets compulsory for all pedestrians, bicyclists and school bus passengers.

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

Police in New York initially arrested a 30-year old woman for hit-and-run, accusing her of leaving the scene after crashing her bicycle into the rider of an electric unicycle — but prosecutors dropped the charges after discovering she had waited 45 minutes for the cops to show up, while speaking with witnesses and waiting for paramedics before going home.

A Washington Post reader takes the paper to task for showing a shirtless, helmet-less bike rider with a corgi in a backpack in high heat while checking his phone with no hands on his handlebars.

A London barrister posts video of his confrontation with a traffic cop after he got a ticket for riding with no hands during rush hour traffic, even though there’s no law against that in the UK.

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Local 

An op-ed from the chair of Bike Long Beach argues the city is falling behind on life-saving speed cams. Just like its much bigger neighbor next door. 

 

State

A portable pump track is making it’s way around Orange County, popping up in Buena Park before moving on to Santa Ana, after appearing already in Mission Viejo, Garden Grove, Tustin, Irvine and Huntington Beach.

Sad news from San Raphael, where a 54-year old man who was one of the mountain biking coaches at a local high school was killed by a driver in a left cross collision while he was riding his bike, at an intersection where four bike riders were struck by drivers in similar crashes over a five-year period, yet the city did nothing to fix it.

The people running Apple clearly don’t get it, donating $4 million to close a funding gap to build a Cupertino freeway interchange with funds originally planed for a bikeway project, helping fuel induced demand and climate change.

 

National

Bicycling considers why so many girls are giving up biking, and what parents can do to help keep them on two wheels. You can read the story on MSN if the magazine blocks you. 

An architect’s newsletter says it’s time to come up with an infrastructure design solution to safely integrate ebikes.

Car and Driver recommends the best electric cargo bikes. Because who knows more about replacing your car with an ebike than a driving magazine?

Singletracks wants to know whether you think mountain bike trail difficulty ratings are accurate.

Velo explains how to find an actual, factual real deal on bicycling gear on Amazon Prime Day.

A Black father and son describe how they began biking together after the 65-year old dad underwent three heart surgeries, including the multi-day ride from St. Louis to Chicago recounted in their PBS documentary Bike Vessel. 

Um, okay. Hundreds of Portland bike riders were expected to turn out for the “We’re Better Than You” bike ride to raise awareness for “their superior lifestyle choices,” riding at exactly 6 mph to send a message that “Cars are murder machines, walking is inefficient, and public transit is for people who haven’t maxed out their REI credit cards yet.”

Denver bike riders spent their 4th of July riding in silence to honor the victims of traffic violence, following a 78% jump in bicycle and pedestrian deaths in the past ten years.

An Ohio driver faces multiple charges for the alleged DUI hit-and-run that seriously injured two of three kids riding a “three-wheeled bicycle.” Which sounds a lot like a tricycle, although they don’t mention the age of the victims. 

A New York news site says the Parks Department is trying to have it both ways by allowing ebikes and e-scooters in parks and pathways, while restricting cars in parks to protect people on bicycles, arguing that reckless ebike riders pose as much risk to pedestrians as drivers do.

Once again, a motor vehicle was a weapon of mass destruction, when a North Carolina dump truck driver crossed the center line and hit three bike riders head-on, killing two men and injuring the other; an Asheville bike shop planned a memorial to remember the victims, one of whom had worked there for four years.

 

International

Momentum tries to explain People For Bikes’ seemingly inexplicable ratings for the world’s most bicycle-friendly cities.

Thirty-one-year old British cyclist Molly Weaver set a new record by circumnavigating the country in 21 days, 10 hours and 48 minutes, shattering the previous record by 17 hours.

Students from the vocational school founded by the two Václav’s who founded Czech carmaker Škoda as bikemaker 130 years ago transformed one of the company’s cars into a bike race support vehicle as their graduate project.

An 18-year old man with dual French and German citizenship disappeared while riding his bike through Iran on a 400-day bicycling trip across Europe and Asia; he went missing on the third day of the recent Israeli bombardment, and could be one of the estimated 20 foreigners being held by Iran on suspicion of spying. 

The best places to ride your bike in Tokyo for your next trip to Japan.

Bicyclists and traffic safety advocates staged a protest in Manila over the weekend, demanding the Philippine capital cancel plans to remove a protected bike lane to make room for motorcycle lanes.

China is experiencing a boom in ebike sales thanks to a generous nationwide “cash for clunkers” style trade-in program.

This is the cost of traffic violence. An Australian race car driver described as a “extraordinary figure” in Australian motorsports, and who recently competed in the 24 Hours of La Mans, as well as backing the careers of several young racers, was killed by a bus driver while he was riding a bike with his wife near the local zoo.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mathieu Van der Poel ended the first weekend of the Tour de France in yellow after outsprinting Tadej Pogacar in a photo finish to win the second stage, with Jonas Vingegaard third; Cycling News offers a moment-by-moment recap of how the stage unfolded.

The Cofidis cycling team was hit by thieves before the second stage, breaking into one of the team trucks to steal 11 Look bikes worth an estimated $170,000, as well as the team mechanics’ tool sets.

Trine Marie Vingegaard Hansen, the wife of Jonas Vingegaard, stirred up a hornet’s nest by publicly criticizing the training methods of her husband’s Visma-Lease a Bike cycling team, as well as the time away from family demanded by the team, though the team insisted it was blown out of proportion.

Former world time trial cham Filippo Ganna’s Tour de France experience didn’t even make it through the first stage, becoming the first rider to abandon the race after suffering a concussion in a crash.

Cyclist profiles the seven North American cyclists taking part in this year’s Tour — two of whom came up through the same Boise, Idaho youth cycling program.

Road.cc offers a definitive guide to what all the pros are riding at the Tour, while your favorite cyclist could now risk getting a yellow card for bad behavior, just like soccer players.

The Tour de France is overshadowing the Giro d’Italia Donne, aka the women’s Giro, where Swiss individual time trial champ Marlen Reusser won the Giro’s first stage ITT to take the pink leader’s jersey.

The final day of the German Track Cycling Championships was cancelled when two cyclists crashed over the track barriers on final bend of the men’s keirin semi-finals, injuring seven spectators, two seriously enough to be airlifted to local hospitals; the two racers escaped with minor injuries.

A 19-year old British pro apologized for causing a massive crash after hitting a pothole in the country’s national road championships, while reporting that he fractured a vertebrae in his neck, and suffered a “fair amount” of road rash.

 

Finally…

Achieving world peace by sharing an off-road tandem. Your next e-recumbent could look like a velomobile, with a removable roof and a trunk in the back, or maybe it could be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell — but is it really a bicycle if it doesn’t have pedals?

And that’s one hell of a polka dot tan line, dude.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

San Diego killer hit-and-run drivers — plural — turn themselves in, and Perris hit-and-run driver out on bail

July 3, 2025 / / No comments
Day 184 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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I’m dealing with a sick migraine as I finish this, so please excuse any mistakes this time since I’m not up to proofing it. 

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Look, I don’t have to tell you that tomorrow is the 4th of July. Or that there’s no better way to get to or from the fireworks than riding your bike.

Unless you live in my neighborhood, where it already sounds like a war zone from all the illegal fireworks.

Just remember that drivers are more likely to be focused on their kids or finding a parking spot than they are to be looking for you on a bicycle.

And three-day weekends tend to bring out the worst in drivers, including making a beer or hot dog run after drinking all day. Or imbibing some other substance, legal or otherwise.

So whenever wherever you ride, do it defensively. Assume every driver you encounter is under the influence or otherwise distracted, and prepare in advance.

Because chances are, you won’t be far off.

Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels.

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Better late than never.

According to San Diego’s Fox 5, a pair of hit-and-run drivers were arrested after belatedly turning themselves in for killing a Claremont ebike rider all the way back on March 29th.

Twenty-seven-year old Kamille Agustin and 23-year old Anthony Phan turned themselves in to traffic investigators at the San Diego Police Department on Wednesday, accused of fleeing after they both struck the 31-year old victim in separate vehicles.

The victim still has not been publicly identified.

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Forty-one-year old Perris resident Kenneth Orlando Juarez Vega was already out on $75,000 bail yesterday, released Monday following his arrest the same day for fleeing the scene after seriously injuring a bike rider while driving under the influence.

Although maybe I was too hasty in criticizing the LAPD for the bizarrely cryptic story about a fatal South LA hit-and-run story posted by My News LA yesterday.

They may have replaced their human writers with AI, after their version of this said “Driver Accused of Pedro’s DUI Hit-and-Run Out on Bail,” rather than Perris.

Oops.

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

A new survey shows half of London bike riders admit to running red lights — although they are ten times more likely than drivers to get fined for it. Funny how The Times seems to drop its paywall for stories bashing bicyclists, though.

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Local 

Streetsblog explores the new bike lanes on Avenues 64 and 63 in Highland Park.

 

State

The annual Huntington Beach Fourth of July Bicycle Cruise returns for a sixth year on Saturday.

Hats off to eight-year old third grader Will Benzer, who became the youngest rider to ever complete Folsom’s 40-mile Motherlode Epic mountain bike race.

 

National

She’s got a point. A Denver writer questions whether ebikes must be allowed everywhere more traditional bicycles are, arguing that anything that can do 20 mph uphill without pedal is an electric motorcycle, not a bicycle.

It was a bad day in Houston, where three bike riders were killed in just 24 hours.

A New Hampshire public radio station offers tips on how bike riders can stay say on the road. Which mostly make sense as far as they go, although it’s hard to make eye contact with a speeding distracted driver. 

A former DOT official under the previous administration warns New York Mayor Adams’s “counterproductive” ebike speed limit will reduce bicycling rates and safety.

Unlike most American cities — including Los Angeles — New York is making progress under Vision Zero, with traffic deaths for the first six months of this year at their lowest level in recorded history. Then again, it’s hard to make progress when you don’t fund the program, and fight it at every turn.

 

International

EV Magazine lists the world’s top ten electric bikemakers, from Britain’s Brompton to Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings.

That’s more like it. A 37-year old British man was sentenced to 13 years behind bars for the hit-and-run death that killed a 48-year old man riding a bicycle while driving nearly 100 mph, then setting his car on fire to destroy the evidence.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Weekly explains everything you need to know about the third and final season of Netflix’ Tour de France: Unchained.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the family 116-year old bike shop is just this side of a museum — unless it becomes a dance studio. Your next racing bike could be an abstract expressionist canvas.

And that feeling when a young man’s effort to bike from Nigeria to the US breaks the internet.

Okay, not really.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Update: 30-year old man riding bicycle killed in South LA hit-and-run; police looking for black Tesla Model X

July 2, 2025 / / No comments

The news just keeps getting worse this week.

At least, I think it’s this week.

According to a cryptic report from My News LA, the LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver who killed a 30-year old man riding a bicycle in the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood of South Los Angeles.

Except there’s no time listed for when the crash occurred. Or a date, for that matter. Only that police asked for the public’s help on Wednesday, which doesn’t exactly narrow it down.

The crash also occurred in a manner that would seem to be physically impossible.

According to the story,

The crash occurred when the vehicle, which was speeding east on 67th Street toward Flower Street, hit the bicyclist as he rode east on Flower, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Except while 67th runs east and west, Flower runs north and south. Which means the victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was apparently either rear-ended as he rode east on 67th, or struck as he rode on Flower.

He died after being taken to a hospital, which was also unidentified.

The driver was last seen fleeing east on 67th Street toward Grand Ave. No description of the driver or vehicle was given.

Anyone with information is urged to call Officer Lozada at the LAPD’s South Traffic Division. But apparently, you’re supposed to look it up yourself, since there’s no number given.

Okay, I’ll save you the trouble.

It’s 323/421-2577, unless it’s 323/421-2500, since one is listed on the LAPD’s website, while the other came from a previous South Traffic Division press release.

Although you’d think they might have told us if they really want our help.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles. Maybe they want you to tell them when and how the crash occurred to collect the reward.

This is at least the 22nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; remarkably, it’s only the third we’ve learned about in the City of Los Angeles

This was also at least the sixth SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers since the first of the year.

Update: Police finally confirmed two weeks later that the victim, who still hasn’t been publicly identified, was riding a bicycle when he was killed. 

The suspect vehicle is described as a black Tesla Model X. A still photo pulled from a security video appears to show a passenger in the right seat.

Anyone with information is urged to contact LAPD South Traffic Division Officer Lozada at 213/677-9791, or anonymously at 800/222-8477 or online.

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

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

Crowdfund launched for fallen rider Virgo Datu, nominations for Burbank kids bike giveaway, and Metro meetings this month

July 2, 2025 / / No comments
Day 183 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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We’ve got a lot of ground to cover after yesterday’s unexcused absence.

But before we get started, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help pay funeral and memorial expenses for fallen bicyclist Virgo Datu.

Datu passed away unexpectedly after crashing when he caught a wheel on Saturday’s Montrose Ride.

The campaign has already raised over $10,000, more than double the initial $5,000 goal.

Photo of Virgo Datu from crowdfunding page.

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I’m always a sucker for a good cause, especially when it comes to giving kids bicycles.

Which brings us to the 4th Annual Bikes for Kids giveaway sponsored by Burbank native and personal injury attorney Adrianos Facchetti.

According to a press release for the event,

Facchetti, who helps families recover after car accidents and injuries, says the giveaway is one of the most meaningful things his team does all year. “After seeing the struggles many of our clients go through, we wanted to create something that spreads joy.”

The event has grown steadily since its launch in 2021. Past winners included kids who helped care for siblings, stayed strong through medical challenges, or simply showed up every day with kindness. The firm invites the ten selected children to its Burbank office, where they receive their new bikes, helmets, and a round of applause…

“This community raised me,” Facchetti added. “This is one small way we can give back.”

Nominations are open for any child aged 6 to 17 who lives within ten miles of The Law Offices of Adrianos Facchetti at 4444 W. Riverside Drive, Suite 308, in Burbank. Submissions should explain how the child has gone “above and beyond” to help someone else, or positively impacted their siblings, classmates or community.

Nominations are open from July 5th through July 26th; just click here to submit yours.

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Metro will hold a series of important public meetings this month to discuss the NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Project, and the Sepulveda Transit Corridor.

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

Seriously? An English town defends fining people the equivalent of nearly $1,400 just for riding a bike through the town center, claiming residents have been “scarred for life” by “anti-social” bicyclists.

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

If you’re trying to flee from San Bernardino Sheriff’s deputies while carrying several baggies of meth, try not to crash your ebike into one of their cars.

No bias here. A Santa Barbara grand jury examined complaints about bad behavior and near accidents involving young people on ebikes, concluding that better eduction and stricter enforcement were needed to rein them in — although the local paper doesn’t put it that nicely. And yes, some kids are out of control, with far too many e-motorbikes passed off as ebikes. But just wait until the jurors learn what drivers do out on the streets, as well the relative risk ebike riders pose compared to people in the big, dangerous machines.

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Local 

A 31-year old man was in stable condition after being shot while riding his bike in DTLA Sunday night, telling police he didn’t see the shooter. Or presumably, know why.

The LA Country Sheriff’s Department will conduct another bicycle and pedestrian safety operation in West Hollywood on Thursday, ticketing anyone who commits a traffic violation that could endanger either group, regardless of who commits it. So as usual, ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line to make sure you’re not the one who gets written up. Thanks to David for the heads-up. 

Santa Clarita officially broke ground on the new Haskell Canyon Bike Park on Tuesday.

 

State

California cities are now using drones to catch people riding illegal ebikes, aka out-of-class, not street legal or illegally modified.

Oceanside will dedicate a segment of the San Luis Rey River Trail in the city to Jensen Taylor Hughes, a young woman who was killed while riding on the trail in September, 2023. I don’t seem to have a record of her death, and can’t find any news reports.

An Oceanside man is working to transform the community through a lowrider bicycle project.

Family and friends of a 12-year old girl killed this April in an Encinitas crosswalk call out a proposal to widen deadly Encinitas Blvd to add a third traffic lane in each direction, calling for bicycle and pedestrian improvements instead.

A 41-year old man was busted for an allegedly drunken hit-and-run after rear-ending a bike rider in Perris; the victim was hospitalized in stable condition despite suffering serious injuries.

Ventura nonprofit Bike 4 A Cause will launch a free program to teach kids to ride bicycles this Saturday.

Hats off to Oakland’s Bay Area Bicycle Rescue, which collects unloved bikes from community members and repairs them to redistribute to people who need them, saving over 1,200 bikes from the landfill last year alone.

Singletracks talks with the Calirado Kid, a Sacramento-based mountain bike content creator “known for posting hilarious bike-related videos on Instagram, TikTok and Youtube,” while working with a science group to encourage riders to help document biodiversity in California.

 

National

Good damn question. A movie site questions whatever happened to all those great cycling movies like we had in the ’80s.

Buyer beware. Electrek considers what you really get when you order that $500 ebike online.

He gets it. A writer for Cycling Weekly argues that bicycling is a political act, and the battle for public lands is a reminder that cyclists can’t afford to stay on the sidelines of politics.

No bias here, either. A writer for a sustainable journalism newsletter examines the slow progress American cities are making in becoming bike friendly — but positions it by misleadingly asking if that progress is a good thing. But at least they have the good taste to include a photo of a Boston corgi in a cargo bike. 

The Atlantic bemoans the decline of a classic childhood pastime, as fewer kids are riding bikes. But you’ll have to sign up for a free trial if you want to read more than the first few paragraphs.

He gets it, too. Alaska writer Craig Medred complains that the public is usually kept in the dark about traffic violence, at a time when even AAA says only 35% of American drivers can be classified as “good,” and “only luck and the capabilities of modern medicine” keep the carnage from being worse.

As of yesterday, bike riders in New Mexico now enjoy the full benefits of the Idaho Stop Law, which lets bicyclists treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stop signs, although in both cases they’re required to observe the right-of-way and proceed only when safe.

Livability says diverse terrain, beautiful views and a lack crowds make Idaho’s Palouse region a bicycling paradise.

A new Denver bike app helps bicyclists find “low-stress” bike routes, while rewarding them for stopping at local businesses along the way.

A New York judge calls time out, ruling that a restraining order protecting an endangered bike lane will stay in place for now, until he rules on a case trying to stop the city from ripping it out.

More proof that bikes are good for business, after the US Pro Road National Championships generated a $6.9 million impact on Charleston, West Virginia — a whopping 50% jump over last year.

A new report says bike-unfriendly Alabama has the nation’s strictest bicycle laws.

 

International

Momentum recommends Canada’s best bike cities, for anyone looking to flee for snowier pastures.

More on the Toronto bike lane that Ontario officials want to rip out “because no one uses it” — even though it carries more rush hour traffic than the traffic lanes next to it. Maybe they should rip out one of the lanes drivers use to make more room for bikes, instead. 

After selling his eponymous bikewear brand, former Canadian Olympian Louis Garneau has started a new company focused on making more affordable kids bikes.

Shimano wants to know why Europe has a “critical” shortage of bike mechanics, saying it risks creating barriers to bicycling.

Police in Wales will stop accepting video evidence of overly close passes — or doing anything about them, anyway — even though video is been accepted as proof of traffic violations throughout the UK.

They get it. An Irish bike advocacy group says we try to rationalize traffic violence as freak accidents, when the roads are “still engineered, policed and legislated for in ways that accept, and sometimes even enable, lethal outcomes.”

Here’s your chance to own a new limited edition Swiss watch honoring cycling great Fabian Cancellara, for the low, low price of nearly $6,400. Although the only nod to Cancellara is a few touches of yellow, so it could honor anyone of your choice who has ever worn yellow, if Sparticus doesn’t do it for you. 

Life is cheap in New Zealand, where a judge acquitted a semi driver for killing a longtime bike commuter in their equivalent of a right hook, blaming poor road markings for making it unclear who had the right-of-way, even though the driver admitted to never even seeing the victim.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist calls out the favorites for this year’s Tour de France, which they swear goes beyond Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, and digs deep to examine who stands to get a cut of the race’s $2,714,901.48 in prize money (at Tuesday’s exchange rate).

Velo identifies “all the bikes, components and gear” used by the 23 teams rolling out for the Tour this Saturday.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can own your very own established bike brand. Your next handlebars could be reminiscent of America’s military HQ, but with less brass.

And call it the next best thing to biking naked.

Thoughts on this skinsuit
byu/BaewuIf inCyclingFashion

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

CTC approves $5 billion for transportation but pittance for bikes & peds, and we’re not even safe at open streets events

June 30, 2025 / / No comments
Day 181 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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When is $5 billion not $5 billion?

When it comes from the California Transportation Commission.

The CTC announced this past week that they are investing that amount to improve road safety, reduce traffic congestion and promote cleaner transportation.

Although that amount drops a lot before they get to the “cleaner transportation” part. And even more before they get to the active kind of clean.

Nearly half of that 5 billion bucks is allocated for crumbling roadways, with another $1.45 billion to improve low-emission freight networks, while nearly $810 million goes to streamline freight movement to reduce truck idling and cut pollution.

You have to get all the way down to the bottom before bikes and pedestrians get a mention. Even then, it’s in the context of $483 million for passenger rail extensions, bike lanes and rapid transit bus systems, along with another $202 million for local rail, transit and pedestrian upgrades.

Which includes things $63 million to add a bridge and wildlife crossing for Riverside County’s Ramona Expressway — along with some bike lanes to help greenwash the project — as well $49 million for EV charging, and $28 million for ultra-fast vehicle chargers.

Oh, and there’s also a relatively minuscule $18 million to improve traffic safety near five Los Angeles schools, most of which will undoubtedly be spent to undo the damage caused by cars, rather than proactively improving biking and walking.

Even though that’s what kids do.

At least the ones who don’t get dropped off in big honking SUVs, pun intended.

Meanwhile, California Streetsblog says the CTC didn’t do anything to dispel the charge it just rubber stamps highway widening, after unanimously approving every highway project before it.

They may have a point.

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We’re not even safe at open streets events.

Two Pittsburgh PA bike riders were lucky to escape with minor injuries when a woman blew through a barricade blocking streets for the event in her car, striking the first rider with her mirror.

She made a U-turn as bystanders yelled at her, before running down a second woman who heroically tried to use her bike to stop her.

Sheriff’s deputies working safety at the event finally brought the rampage to a halt, but had to bust out the car window to drag her out as she struggled and “became verbally abusive,” yelling racist statements at the cops.

No reason was given for the incident, and there’s no word on whether it was intentional.

But it sure as hell sounds like it.

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

A brand new bike path in a Welsh city remains blocked by a gate, which may not swing open for at least another two months.

A British railway operator scrapped plans to scrap bike parking over fears it could be used for a car bomb. Or maybe a bike bomb, in this case.

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

If you’re going to carry an illegal ghost gun with an extended magazine and laser attachment on your bike, try not to crash into a park car like this Connecticut teen.

Nothing like another mountain biker tossing your bike off a wet Whistler, Canada bridge just because you stopped to enjoy the view.

Speaking of videos, an Edinburgh bike rider posted video of a run-in with a pedestrian that begins with the bicyclist running a red light, and ends with him repeatedly telling the other man to fuck off — then is surprised when commenters criticize him instead of the other guy.

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Local 

Malibu is extending its local emergency declaration addressing traffic violence on PCH, where 23 people have died in 22 crashes between 2018 and 2022, and 170 deaths and serious injuries between 2011 and 2023.

 

State

A 73-year old California man is walking or bicycling 50 kilometers — aka 31 miles — in each of the 50 states in just 50 days to inspire seniors to be more active.

Sad news from Fresno, where a woman was killed when she was run down from behind by a hit-and-run pickup driver, who clearly had to know they hit someone after dragging the woman’s bicycle 120 feet down the roadway.

 

National

If you bought a Bell bike helmet from Target or Walmart, you may have to take it back after a number of models are recalled.

A Utah man is filled with gratitude after finding he could do an entire ride to a downtown meeting on bike paths and bike lanes, 30 years after giving up his regular bike commute due to the risk.

That’s more like it. It’s now illegal for Utah motorists to block or drive in a bike lane, and they must yield to bicyclists riding in one.

Authorities in Montana are on the hunt for a killer grizzly bear who fatally mauled a 38-year old mountain biker on a trail trail just outside Glacier National Park after startling the bear, while his riding companion went for help.

Chicago Streetsblog complains that the city is not one of the nation’s worst cities for bicycling, despite what People For Bikes says, while admitting there’s room for improvement. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has even more room to improve.

NY Streetsblog offers “affidavits” from people who use a threatened Queens bike lane safely and legally, before an expected Tuesday court ruling in a lawsuit to save it, while making it clear the judge is an active contributor to the politician who wants to rip it out.

Lyft magnanimously agreed to stop blaming New York’s Pride celebrations for capping bikeshare ebike speeds at 15 mph, when it actually came in response to a directive from the mayor’s office.

A pair of New York women were both sentenced to six years behind bars for killing a 22-year old man riding a bicycle in New Jersey, even though only one woman actually hit him; both were driving separate cars up to 90 mph in a 50 mph zone, while passing other drivers on the shoulder of the roadway leading up to the crash.

This is how Vision Zero should work. Philadelphia is implementing safety improvements at an intersection where a 50-year old man was killed while riding his bike last month, as local residents say the changes can’t come quickly enough. Wait until someone tells them changes like that take years here in Los Angeles, if ever.

I really want to be like him when I grow up. An 84-year old Pennsylvania man completed the New Wilmington area’s annual Tour de Donut for at least the sixth time, riding ten miles while eating a dozen donuts.

 

International

Nat Geo has advice on where to go for your first gravel-biking adventure in Scotland.

A British writer rides over 400 miles of gravel on a mountain bike, and says he wouldn’t change a thing, despite “going arse over tits.”

Almost as impressive as the 84-year old donut eating man, an 87-year old man completed the UK’s Land’s End to John o’ Groats challenge, riding the entire length of the country in 14 days, while finishing the ride with two broken ribs and six stitches after crashing two days from the finish.

A new survey shows half of Dutch bike riders have ridden after drinking, while half of those admit to riding drunk. Which may pose its own risks, but I still say it’s better than driving under the influence of anything. 

 

Competitive Cycling

American Sepp Kuss will ride this year’s Tour de France, after missing last year’s race with Covid. Let’s hope he got his shot this year.

Twenty-seven-year old French cyclist Eddy Finé was forced to give up the sport after the Cofidis team revealed he has an “abnormality in the iliac artery, a problem that is incompatible with top-level sport,” and had struggled to return despite three operations in six years with the team.

It was national championship weekend in Europe —

 

Finally…

That feeling when you ride your bike from England to Australia without getting wet. Or when Lance just refuses to go away.

And what self-respecting bird wouldn’t rather go by bike?

@randomspotofglitter

Bike rides are her favorite. #getacockatooitwillbefun #moluccancockatoo #cockatoosoftiktok #peachesthemoluccancockatoo #fleetwoodmac #fyp #parrotsoftiktok #birdsoftiktok #lectricebikes #leathersforfeathers #lectricxptrike

♬ Dreams – Fleetwood Mac

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Happy 17th anniversary to us, a raft of local bicycle lawsuits, and a preteen with better bike skills than both of us

June 27, 2025 / / No comments
Day 178 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Happy anniversary to, um, us?

It’s been 17 years since I started this site, back when I had no idea what the hell it was going to become. 

And to be honest, I still don’t. 

But I look forward to sharing another 17 years with you, and see where that will take us.

………

Today’s common theme is bicycling lawsuits and the people who love them.

Et tu, Brute? The family of a top staffer to San Diego’s mayor is filing suit against the city after a serious bike crash on one of the city’s semi-protected bike lanes.

A Reno, Nevada man is suing Caltrans and the city and county of San Luis Obispo after he was injured when his bicycle hit an unmarked crack in the roadway.

A Kansas man is suing a security guard and the company the guard works for, alleging he was injured when he was roughly thrown off his bicycle.

………

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

As soon as someone says they’re a cyclist, you know you’re in trouble. A Halifax, Nova Scotia city councilor insists he’s one of us, before calling for a review of the city’s spending on a half-finished All Ages and Abilities bike network.

………

Local 

Tomorrow is the annual Culver City Pride Ride.

The Easy Reader takes a very brief look at French ebike reseller Upway’s new refurbishment and sales center in Redondo Beach.

 

State

Calbike is pushing Caltrans to get more serious about the state’s Complete Streets requirement.

No surprise here, as a majority of Santa Cruz bike riders don’t feel safe on the county’s roads, and are growing impatient about the slow pace of construction on the Coastal Rail Trail.

A San Francisco TV station takes one last look at the last AIDS/LifeCycling fundraising rider from San Francisco to Los Angeles, after 31 years and over $349 million raised.

Good news for Angelenos for once, since Los Angeles doesn’t even show up on a list of the ten most dangerous California counties for bike riders, at least on a per capita basis; sparsely populated Plumas, Mono and Inyo counties lead the list, even though they have a combined total of just eight bike crashes.

 

National

Outside goes shopping at the big sale at Competitive Cyclist.

Bicycling celebrates the “surprising practical benefit” of having a rear-facing radar on your bike to warn you about oncoming drivers. But they don’t want you to know what it is without paying them first. 

Travel + Leisure, who have apparently become experts in all things bicycle, test out and review year’s best women’s padded bike shorts. In other words, bike shorts. 

A Boulder, Colorado website examines why it’s one of the country’s best cities for cyclists.

Speaking of Boulder, the city’s Stages Cycling joins the growing list of zombie bike brands brought back from the dead after being bought out of bankruptcy by giant bike brand Giant.

A Michigan columnist says riding what he calls “a poor man’s convertible” can offer an escape from these troubled times. Then again, an actual convertible can make you poor.

 

International

As if the city’s bike paths aren’t crowded enough, Bogota, Columbia is moving forward with a proposal to allow actual e-motorbikes to use them, too.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Winnipeg, Manitoba, is responding to the death of a bike rider last year with a proposal to install protected bike lanes and lower the speed limit to 25 mph.

That’s more like it. Flags were lowered to half staff in an Ontario, Canada city to honor a nine-year old boy who was killed by a school bus driver while riding his bike. Then again, if we did that for every victim of traffic violence in Los Angeles, the flags might never go back up.

The Mounties always get their man — for not wearing a bike helmet.

The new head of British spy agency MI6 is one of us, after Blaise Metreweli chose to ride her bike to a last-minute meeting at a London Park before she was named to be the firs woman to lead the agency. Rather than borrowing 007’s iconic Aston Martin, evidently; we’ll forget that misguided foray into German BMWs. 

The Isle of Man insists they’re not going to ban bikes from a popular roadway, despite a radio station’s tepid petition, which has garnered less than 350 signatures in two weeks.

Bicycle Retailer looks at the best new products at this year’s Eurobike show,  but Zag Daily is not impressed. .

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-three-year old Dutch cyclist Puck Pieterse isn’t willing to settle for being one of the top ‘cross and mountain bike pros, but wants to conquer road cycling by winning the Tour de France Femmes, as well.

 

Finally…

Why just pedal when you can row, too? When you’re riding with alleged illegal drugs on your bike, put a damn light on it, already.

And that feeling when an 11-year old — yes, 11 — has better bike skills than you and me.

Well, me, anyway.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

LAPD slowly doles out more details on fatal South LA hit-and-run, and California leads nation in bicycle thefts

June 26, 2025 / / No comments
Day 177 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Apparently, the LAPD wants our help.

But only a little at a time.

A week after the LAPD belatedly told us about the hit-and-run that killed 34-year old Los Angeles resident Jose Villalobos as he rode his bike in South LA earlier this month, the department has released a little more information about the crash.

Investigators now believe the driver may have been involved in one of several street takeovers that occurred in the area in the hours before the June 1st collision. One of which was broken up by police less than a mile from where Villalobos was killed at Century Blvd and San Pedro Street.

Surveillance video shows Villalobos being struck by a silver two-door Chevrolet Camaro with black racing stripes as he approached San Pedro on Century. The driver fled the scene, still dragging the bicycle beneath their vehicle as the car headed towards the 110 Freeway.

Police believe the driver was the same man who stopped at a nearby liquor store before the fatal crash.

So naturally, police used the press conference to deliver an important safety message, reminding drivers that street takeovers are illegal and that they are legally required to stop after a crash.

Right?

Guess again. According to LAPD Det. Ryan Moreno,

“Whether you’re a pedestrian, on a bicycle, on a scooter, skateboard, whatever it is, you have to also take your safety in your own hands. Don’t assume people see you. Don’t assume the public sees you. And if they do see you, don’t assume they’re going to stop,” he said.

Which may be good advice. But it’s the wrong message, delivered to the wrong people, when they should have been talking to the ones in the big, dangerous machines who have a bad habit of killing other people.

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

Anyone with information is urged to call 213/321-9681, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.

………

Yay, us.

A new report shows that California leads the nation in bike thefts by a nearly two-to-one margin in the total number of bikes stolen, and more than that in terms of total value.

That leads Texas on the first count, and Colorado on the second.

In fact, Colorado had an average value of nearly $2,000 per purloined bike, nearly a third more than California, at just under $1,500. And roughly two-and-a-half times the average value of Texas bike thefts.

Not surprisingly, Alaska had the least number of bicycles stolen.

All of which is a good reminder to get free, lifetime bike registration through Bike Index if you haven’t already.

………

Streetsblog examines the new roughly 750-foot pathway connecting two existing footbridges near the Griffith Park Recreation Center, improving access to the LA River bike path.

………

Nothing like taking a little bike riding vacation in California.

………

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

No bias here. A British town councilor complains about the “bullying and intimidation” from the “unelected” bike lobby over approval of a new pump track. Even though the only pressure a bike group can actually apply stems from their public support. And isn’t responding to the public what elected officials are supposed to do?

………

Local 

A California man is suing Amazon and Los Angeles-based ebike maker Actbest Technology Inc, alleging he suffered catastrophic injuries when he was thrown to the ground after the handlebars on his foldable ebike gave out. Then again, what would you expect from $369 electric foldie?

Santa Clarita will officially break ground Tuesday on the long-debated Haskell Canyon Bike Park.

Thirty-year old mountain bike pro and Santa Clarita Valley resident Spencer Rathkamp says he’s excited about the growing mountain bike scene in the area.

 

State

Secret Los Angeles explores the 70% complete California Coastal Trail, which will eventually stretch 1,230 through the state.

The Huntington Beach Police Department is now offering ebike training for local students. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Calbike is taking issue with the recent Kern County grand jury report blaming bike lanes for causing problems on Bakersfield streets, alleging the conclusions are troubling and lack sufficient evidence.

A former Antioch K-9 cop was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after he was convicted of siccing a police dog on a bike rider for the crime of riding without lights, then filing a false report about it. Oh, and he paid someone else to fraudulently earn a college degree for him, too.

Sad news from Marin, where Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member and co-director Don Cook died from a heart attack while riding his mountain bike on Tuesday; the 66-year old Cook was inducted into the hall in 1989, in just the second class, and co-directed the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame with his wife, Kay Peterson Cook, who was inducted into the hall six years after her husband.

 

National

Momentum ranks the best bicycling routes through American wine regions — not surprisingly topped by California’s Napa Valley.

An Anchorage, Alaska woman learns the hard way that it takes more than a thousand bucks to bribe a cop into letting you go home from the drunken crash that killed a bike rider as he was on the phone with his mom in Baja California. And yes, we mentioned this one earlier in the week. But still.

Utah follows Idaho’s lead, and bans narrowing or reducing travel lanes for the next three years without approval of each project by the Utah Department of Transportation, putting new Salt Lake City bike lanes at risk, as well as the city’s Vision Zero program.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 90-year old man takes part in the Everybody Bike Day in the town next door to my bike-friendly Colorado hometown, which celebrated the more mundane Bike to Work Day, instead.

Rhode Island’s largest newspaper highlights the state’s whopping 60 miles of paved bike paths. And even that is more than enough to traverse the entire state. 

People For Bikes celebrates Brooklyn’s ascension to the top of the organization’s large city ratings — even though it’s a New York borough, rather than an actual city. Which is kinda like giving the award to the San Fernando Valley, not like that would ever happen.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that bikes have a right to the road and don’t have to automatically pull over to make room for motor vehicles; instead, road conditions should determine whether a bike rider needs to make way for faster vehicles in order not to impede traffic.

 

International

A British bicyclist says he was lucky to cheat death when he went over his handlebars after hitting a pothole, which wasn’t fixed despite causing another crash six weeks earlier; his injuries included a broken neck and collarbone, nine fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, and multiple pelvis fractures.

A man from the UK was sentenced to 12-years behind bars for hacking a 75-year old man to death with an axe after visiting Finland on a fundraising bike tour, telling police he had killed the man as he slept in his bed the morning after spending the night with him because the victim had drugged and raped him — even though police found “no evidence of illicit substances or materials that the elderly victim could use to restrain the young and physically fit aggressor.”

A Chilean man riding around the world with his three-year old dog was happy to escape Iran after getting caught in the country during the recent Israeli bombardment, especially after he was abducted by armed men who took his passport, before releasing it and him the next day.

After moving to Sydney, Australia, a new resident explores the 142-mile Greater Sydney Bike Trail, which loops around the city. The only thing that loops around Los Angeles is the city’s freeway system. 

 

Competitive Cycling

A new German documentary quotes an anonymous pro cyclist as saying it’s a joke to believe “nothing illegal has been taken at the Tour de France since 2015” — and not only is doping still going on, but as many as 14 people alleged to have been involved in a previous doping scandal are still involved in pro cycling.

Bicycling previews the key stages in this year’s Tour de France, calling it the most grueling race in decades. But you’ll have to pay them if you want to read it. 

 

Finally…

It’s been just a short 216 years since the first bicycle was patented. Apparently, “no” is not the correct response when a cop tries to pull you over on your bicycle to serve an active warrant.

And that feeling when you find a feline who loves biking as much as you do.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Stop Metro’s induced demand inducing 71 Freeway project, and reinventing upper body bicycle workouts for the first time

June 25, 2025 / / No comments
Day 176 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Streets For All wants your help to stop Metro’s proposal to flush even more millions down the induced-demand toilet by widening the 71 freeway through Pomona.

Even though freeway projects go against California’s ostensible commitment to Complete Streets, as well as the state’s pollution and climate goals.

But if it gives drivers a faster commute for a few months until the corresponding crushing increase in traffic makes it worse for the rest of eternity, it’s worth it.

Right?

Tell the CTC: No More Freeway Widening!

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) on Thursday is considering funding (tab 21) widening the 71 freeway in Pomona (State Route 71 Gap Closure Project – Phase 2), a project being proposed by Metro Los Angeles.

This is Destruction For Nada! The expensive trend of disastrous highway widening projects must stop.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Tell the CTC that you DO NOT support freeway widenings! Let’s use that funding on sustainable projects instead.

EMAIL THE CTC (CUSTOMIZE THE BOTTOM!)

Photo by MART PRODUCTION from Pexels. 

………

Once again, someone has invented the “first” bicycle with moving handlebars to give you an upper body workout while you ride.

Something that seems to get “invented” for the first time every few years.

Never mind that they keep running into the recurring problem that handlebars already serve a purpose, which isn’t helped if the damn things keep moving on you.

………

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

No bias here. A Eugene, Oregon TV station reports on a “vehicle versus bicycle crash,” which apparently had no humans involved in or on either vehicle. Although their primary concern is just warning drivers about the traffic inconvenience, rather than any potential risk to human life or anything.

Apparently, a new bike lane will destroy Gloucestershire, England’s historic city center, but all those “historic” streets and cars are just fine, even though bikes were there first.

No bias here, either. A radio station on the Isle of Man released a petition calling for banning bike riders from a 13-mile roadway, claiming it’s too dangerous for bikes and cars to share — which garnered a whopping 200 signatures, representing less than 0.25% of the island’s population. Something tells me they’d get more signatures if they called for banning cars, instead.

………

Local 

Santa Clarita was set to consider approving a construction contract for the long-awaited Haskell Canyon Bike Park at last night city council meeting.

 

State

The good news, Apple Valley approved a new Complete Streets Action Plan, including a number of new bike paths throughout the city; the bad news, it’s funded by a federal grant, so the funds could be on the chopping block.

A Menifee teenager suffered severe, but non-life-threatening, injuries when he was t-boned by a driver while riding his ebike across the street.

 

National

Streetsblog digs into the recent City Ratings from People For Bikes to uncover the country’s fastest improving bike-friendly cities, led by a small town in Idaho — something else that could be threatened by cuts to federal funding.

Bicycling offers tips on how to survive riding in the heat now enveloping more than half the country. But it doesn’t appear to be available anywhere else, so you may have to bake of the magazine blocks you; my best advise is to ride early or late, drink plenty of water, and stick to shaded routes if you ride midday. 

To mark the upcoming 4th of July, a freedom loving Bend, Oregon man says his bicycle set him free.

Good says Seattle’s body-painted naked bike ride offers a lesson in colorful living.

Santa Fe, New Mexico will consider adopting a Vision Zero program this week. But it comes too late to save a 42-year old competitive cyclist, staple of the city’s pickleball scene, and veteran of the famed Little 500, who was killed by a driver while riding his bike last week.

Colorado will celebrate the summer Bike to Work Day today, offering the second part of their twice-yearly Bike Day schedule. Never mind that Los Angeles, with its ideal weather and mostly flat terrain, barely observes one Bike to Work Day anymore, let alone two. 

A Boulder, Colorado weekly suggests riding your bike to work, then enjoying a variety of local mountain bike and road bicycle tours later in the day.

Cheyenne, Wyoming is hosting a Bike to Work Day of their own today. Which is only surprising if you ever tried riding the extremely bike-unfriendly, cowboy-centric home of the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo back in the day, which I was only brave enough to attempt once. 

A 54-year old Missouri man has ridden his bike every day since December 29, 2015, averaging 33 miles a day, while surviving two traffic collisions, a dog attack and crashing when he swerved to miss a squirrel. That works out to “just” 11,566 miles, assuming he went out again today. 

A New York grand jury indicted a 54-year old man for murder, manslaughter, unlawful fleeing a police officer, leaving the scene of an incident, and assorted other related crimes, for allegedly killing a 36-year-old woman riding a bicycle while he was fleeing from the cops.

He gets it. A New York man writes that NY Mayor Adams is playing a dangerous game by pitting community members against bicyclists in attempting to rip out a bike lane in predominately Jewish neighborhood, apparently forgetting bike riders are part of the community, too. And they vote.

A North Carolina bike columnist recommends riding a 22-mile rail-to-trail conversion from downtown Durham to the next county.

 

International

If you build it, they will come. Bicyclists now outnumber cars on a major Toronto street — with one of the bike lanes the provincial government wants to rip out.

It takes a real schmuck to steal an ebike from a Liverpool, England crash victim after he was struck by a stoned driver, and whisked away to the hospital.

While everyone else will be stuck in traffic trying to get to the UK’s famed Glastonbury Festival, a Spanish man will only have to lock up his bike after rocking the 1,000 miles from his Madrid home to the music fest.

A British driver complains about an “incredibly dangerous” bike rider, arguing that “you shouldn’t be cycling if you don’t know the rules of the road” — then admits without irony to driving 30 mph in a 20 mph zone.

Ireland’s Cycle to Work Scheme — “scheme” meaning program in this case — allows you to buy a new bike and safety gear tax-free, with the payments deducted from your salary over the next year.

Travel site Lonely Planet recommends some of France’s best bicycling routes that start in Paris. Or end there, depending on your perspective.

The last 12 months have been the deadliest on Australian roads in 15 years, largely because of a 15.7% increase in pedestrian deaths and a 36.7% jump in bicycling fatalities.

 

Competitive Cycling

Italian cyclist Diego Ulissi won the Giro dell’Appennino with a solo breakaway on the next-to-last climb, marking 16 straight years with at least one win for the 35-year old pro.

Proving it’s never too late, 35-year old former Moto Grand Prix racer Aleix Espargaró will swap his leathers for Lycra, and make his professional cycling debut for the Lidl-Trek developmental squad at the Tour of Austria. Okay, so it’s way too late for me. But still. 

USA Cycling is merging with US Paralympic Cycling, bringing all Olympic and Paralympic bike racing under a single roof to create a “more unified, inclusiv, and efficient support system” for American cyclists.

Apparently, bikewear takes on a whole new meaning at the tongue-in-cheek Brompton World Championships held in the UK.

 

Finally…

LA drivers may be hard to bear, but at least we don’t have to deal with actual bears most days. Apparently, sexy baggage handlers make better bike stewards.

And if you’re going to jump a roadway, at least try to stick the landing.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Road raging driver swears at bike-riding woman for her own good — no, really – and killer drunk driver tries to bribe cop

June 24, 2025 / / One comment
Day 175 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

This is who we share the road with.

A kindhearted North Carolina driver stopped to politely give a little safety advice to a woman riding a bicycle, who politely thanked him for his thoughtfulness.

Or maybe not.

In an incident caught on video — see below — the road raging driver backed up his pickup to scream at the victim, right after subjecting her to a horn-blaring punishment pass, even though she had moved far to the right after her rear-facing radar notified her of an approaching driver.

Here’s how a local TV station described the incident.

“I’m just letting you know one person has already got killed on this f****** road riding a bike,” yelled the man in the video. “You’re in a f****** curb. When these trucks come around and hit you and kill you, you’re gonna be f****** dead.”

I could be wrong, but I don’t think that missing seven-letter word was “factual”

But wait, there’s more.

In the video, Faith can be heard explaining she had a radar, but Currin drives off. She then yelled at him as he drove away, “Drive better, m**********!” After that, he stopped his truck and drove it in reverse to face her again.

“You need to watch your f****** mouth,” Currin yelled. “Let me give you some good advice, b****, don’t cuss me the f*** out. I’m telling you you’re going to get hit.”

“You’re cursing me out!” Faith yelled back before the video ends.

So let me get this straight.

The driver was so concerned about the woman’s safety that he first threatened it with his truck, then backed up to swear at her. And somehow got mad when she responded in kind.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Drivers like that, she added, are probably why she doesn’t see more women riding solo when she’s out.

And that makes sense, too.

Even if none of the rest did.

@faith_irv_rides

Imagine you are just riding your bike solo and this gem “offers help”. I have ridden this road more times than I can count. I follow all the laws and when my radar tells me someone is coming I move even closer to the white line. (I know I don’t have to.) This “helpful” guy flies by me within inches blaring his horn. I stopped when I saw him slowing down to avoid him. I didn’t get to record the first part when he yelled I shouldn’t be on the road before the first reverse. I guess my bike could have been confused as a grass bike and not a road bike. I am thankful a random driver stopped and waited until the red faced “man” drove off. This was towards the end of my 4 hour ride and I had been thinking all of the drivers were so nice today. Bro said “hold my beer”. I don’t think my heart rate went back down to zone 2 after that either. Just the other day I wondered why I didn’t see more ladies riding solo when I’m out and now we have a good reason. Angry people like this that could have just kept driving. Anyone know this guy or his license plate? It happened on Oakridge Duncan Rd, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526. #cycling #cyclist #roadcyclist #roadcycling #roadbike #badddrivers #cyclinglife #cyclingwomen #bike

♬ original sound – faith_irv_rides

………

This is who we share the road with, part two.

A 40-year old Anchorage, Alaska woman faces charges of manslaughter, DUI and bribery for the speeding, drunken crash that killed a 48-year old man riding a bicycle.

Yes, bribery.

To make matters worse, the victim, who recently became an American citizen, was using his headphones to talk with his mother in Baja California when he was struck and killed. Which will probably haunt her for the rest of her life.

Traffic cameras showed the woman driving over a median, turning left against the light, and driving on the wrong side of the road before drifting off the road and striking the victim while exceeding the posted 50 mph speed limit.

She was still in the driver’s seat, reeking of booze, when police arrived.

Then there’s this.

“Following arrest and during transport to the Anchorage jail, (Dill) told the arresting officer that she would give him $1000 if he dropped her off down the street and ‘acted like nothing happened,’” the summary report said.

The officer asked her to repeat herself, it said, and she “assured him that she had $1,000 cash on her and would give it to him.”

Maybe not the best move.

………

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

No bias here. A columnist for USA Today adds to the anti-ebike and e-scooter hysteria, calling them the hazard tourists never saw coming and insisting it’s time to put an end to the madness — while acknowledging that ebike riders only rarely injure tourists, and that it’s not always the rider’s fault.

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

An 83-year old woman says her life was ruined when she was struck by a hit-and-run ebike rider who blew a red light on a London street, leading her celebrity chef son-in-law to call for a crackdown on ebikes.

An “idiot” riding in a UK sportive nearly learned the hard way why you don’t pass multiple riders on a blind curve.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers photos from Sunday evening’s Mission at Twilight open streets event through Alhambra, San Gabriel and South Pasadena. Which was the only one held Sunday, after CicLAvia was cancelled due to the ICE raids and protests in the LA area.

 

State

Calbike argues that the deadly 85th Percentile Rule, which allows drivers to set speed limits with a heavy right foot, belongs on the dustin of history, while calling for support of AB 1014 to extend the ability of cities to lower speed limits by 5 mph to state roadways. Which isn’t exactly getting rid of it, but it helps. 

Sad news from Newark, where a man was killed while allegedly riding his bike on the wrong side of a highway.

Officials in Tiburon sent a 143-word letter to Caltrans expressing their concerns over a planned bike lane on the city’s eponymous boulevard, with the mayor and a councilmember dissenting; the former because it didn’t address all of her concerns, and the latter because he just wants the whole damn thing stopped. Or part of it, anyway. Maybe it could have addressed all the mayor’s concerns if they’d just made it 145 words. Or even 150.

 

National

People For Bikes celebrates historic, picturesque and newly bikeable Galena, Illinois — population 3,327 — which jumped 30 points in their City Ratings in just five years by adding new trails and bike lanes.

Kindhearted Wisconsin cops bought a new BMX bike for a young man with a disability, after the bike he relied on as his only form of transportation was stolen from a Walgreens.

No bias here, either. A candidate for Boston mayor criticizes the current mayor’s “failed and dangerous bike lanes, speed bumps and removal of parking spaces across the city,” agreeing that he might rip out a new curbside bike lane — even though it went in to improve safety, along with new crosswalks, signals and turn lanes, after a woman was killed just crossing the street to get a cup of coffee.

Mariska Hargitay is one of us, riding her bike on the New York set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit with her joyfully screaming three-year old son following on a tag-a-long trailer. Or at least she was, since the three-year old boy shown in the photo would be 18 now. No word on whether he’s still screaming, joyfully or otherwise. 

The late New Yorker John F. Kennedy Jr. was one of us in real life, and will be again on a new TV series. No, not the dead president. Or the current vaccine-skeptic Health and Human Services secretary. 

Good for them. A group of Wisconsin high school students rode their bikes 1,000 miles to Alabama to explore firsthand the country’s racial relations and civil rights past.

 

International

No news is good news, right? Seriously, I’ve got nothing.

 

Competitive Cycling

The new men’s pro cycling team headed by US cycling legends — and former dopers — George Hincapie and Bobby Julich will “launch a renaissance of American cycling”, with a goal of competing in the Tour de France in just five years.

 

Finally…

We may have to cope with LA’s wild drivers, but wild cougars on the trail, not so much. Apparently, a “like new” bike on social media means kinda fucked up in real life.

And apparently, the new Van Moof lets you fly like Superman. But preferably not in the Superman pose.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Witness blames driver, not victim, for recent Stunt Road crash; and OC DA goes easy on LAPD Sgt. in fatal DUI hit-and-run

June 23, 2025 / / One comment
Day 174 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

My apologies for Friday’s unexcused absence. 

Having diabetes means dealing good days and bad days. That was one of the bad ones. 

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Let’s start with an update to the recent fatal bicycling crash in Calabasas.

Friday afternoon, I spoke with a witness to the crash that killed 37-year old Marvin Cortez as he was riding on Stunt Road on Saturday, June 14th.

What she told me changed our entire understanding of what happened. And more importantly, who was likely responsible.

Initial reports said that Cortez was on the wrong side of the road when he was struck head-on by the driver. But she said the motorist was driving recklessly, with the sound of his engine “reverberating through the canyon” even before he came into sight, roaring around a corner “like he was on a racetrack.

The moments later, she and her friends hear a loud pop, and saw debris flying through the air.

I won’t go into all the details; you can read it yourself if you want to know more.

Suffice it to say that I didn’t question the brief initial news report, which now seems to have been based solely on the driver’s perspective.

And I should have.

Photo from Pexels.

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This is who we share the road with.

A 40-year old LAPD sergeant is getting off easy for the drunken, off-duty hit-and-run that killed a 24-year old man walking in an Orange County street.

LAPD Sgt. Carlos Gonzalo Coronel faces charges for felony DUI and hit-and-run, along with a felony enhancement for allegedly causing great bodily injury.

Yet Coronel could have been charged with second-degree murder after previously admitting to driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in 2011.

He likely would have been required to sign a Watson advisement, which states that he could be charged with murder if he ever killed someone while driving under the influence anytime in the future.

And he did — allegedly.

Yet he wasn’t.

………

About damn time.

A Colorado grand jury has returned an indictment against Barry Morphew, once again charging him with the murder of his wife, Suzanne Morphew.

Suzanne Morphew disappeared while going for Mother’s Day bike ride five years ago. Her body was finally found three years later when investigators were searching in an unrelated case, long after her abandoned bike and helmet were discovered in separate locations near her home.

An autopsy revealed she had been dosed with an animal tranquilizer, which Morphew reportedly had access to.

Barry Morphew was arrested for her presumed murder in 2021, but charges were dropped in April 2022, just before he was supposed to go on trial.

Maybe this time they can make the charges stick.

………

That’s more like it.

A French public broadcaster reports that cars are no longer welcome in the country’s third largest city.

Thanks to Megan for forwarding the video. 

………

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

A road-raging 59-year old Utah man faces charges for intentionally swerving his SUV into a 24-year old man riding an ebike, resulting in a serious head injury, after the ebike rider allegedly cut him off; it was the second time he had confronted the victim in just a matter of days.

No bias here. A local newspaper in exclusive Palm Beach, Florida says there’s just no room for packs of bicyclists on the state’s coastal highway, complaining about plans for sharrows that might encourage people to ride bikes where and how they are legally entitled to ride, because it could inconvenience car-driving local residents.

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

A 43-year old New York man paid the ultimate price after crashing his ebike into a pedestrian walking in a Central Park crosswalk. A reminder to always give the right-of-way to someone in a crosswalk. And colliding with a pedestrian is just as dangerous for the person on the bike as it is for the person walking.  

Police in West Yorkshire, England are looking for a hit-and-run ebike rider who stopped briefly, the fled the scene, after crashing into man in his 60s and sending the victim to the hospital with serious injuries.

British Dame Joan Collins — yes, that Joan Collins — lashed out on Instagram at “loutish” Lime Bike users on the sidewalk.

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Local 

Sheriffs officials in Calabasas are on the lookout for a high-end mountain bike thief, described as a white man between 30 and 35 years old, wearing a black hat, light-colored pants, a black long-sleeve sweatshirt, and black and white tennis shoes. Unless maybe he changed clothes, of course.

 

State

Officials in Carlsbad are removing a pair of traffic circles in response to complaints. Although the metric they should consider is whether the circles improved safety, rather than how many people complained. It’s also worth considering that people who don’t object usually don’t say anything. Thanks to Phillip for the link.

A San Francisco grand jury report blames the city’s Vision Zero failure on a lack of police enforcement, as drivers just ignore the many “No right on red” signs going up downtown with no fear of consequences.

 

National

A writer for People For Bikes says great rides begin at home, with biking adventures waiting just outside your front door. Which is exactly where (almost) every ride I ever took began. Unless you count the back door, too.

A former candidate for mayor of Portland, Oregon was killed when he was struck by a train after reportedly riding his bike around the crossing barriers. Seriously, don’t do that. Ever. Period.

An Arizona writer says the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area near Tucson is an incredible place for bicycling, and her favorite park in the state.

They get it. Police in St. George, Utah say they’re done playing games with people riding illegal e-motorbikes, which are too often lumped in with ped-assist ebikes to unfairly tar all ebike riders. Thanks to Ellectrek for the heads-up.

The 16-year old Albuquerque boy charged with killing Scott Habermehl, while riding with three other boys joyriding in a stolen car, as the Sandia Laboratory scientist was bicycling to work, is now charged as an adult and facing a murder charge.

Life is cheap in Wisconsin, where a 45-year old woman walked without a day behind bars for the hit-and-run that left an ebike rider with “multiple visible injuries.” As long as courts refuse to take hit-and-runs seriously, drivers will continue to trying to get away with it. 

Something is terribly wrong when someone who is still riding a bicycle at 85 becomes a victim of traffic violence, like the elderly Illinois man who was killed by a driver, just days after a 90-year old man was killed by a driver while riding a three-wheeled bike in Indiana. But at least that story mentioned there was someone behind the wheel, unlike the first one. 

Time to cash in the crypto, after Massachusetts-based Parlee Cycles created a money-is-no-object, limited-edition bike build to honor late company founder Bob Parlee; the 25 bikes are based on their new Z-Zero GT, which already retails for $22,990.

New York City counselors are complaining that current mayor Eric Adams — who is likely on this way to becoming ex-mayor after next week’s Democratic primary — is reneging on promises to install 500 secure bike parking pods throughout the city’s five boroughs.

Ebikes provided by New York’s Citi Bike bikeshare are now limited to a maximum of 15 mph; meanwhile, a three-week bike mechanic program has a 100% success rate in placing formerly incarcerated New Yorkers with the bikeshare system.

This is who we share the road with, too. A 32-year old Virginia man has been arrested for the hit-and-run death of 40-year old Sara Burack, after the luxury real estate agent and star of Netflix’s Million Dollar Beach House was found dead on the side of a Long Island roadway. 

Dozens of people took to their bikes in Reading, Pennsylvania to call for peace on the streets and an end to youth gun violence.

Bike riders in Richmond, Virginia are being placed in needless danger by construction crews who have carelessly destroyed bike lane markers and bollards, while forcing riders into traffic to go around their equipment.

Florida could get a 120-mile bike trail through the central part of the state.

 

International

A Vancouver district counselor calls for making bike bells mandatory, arguing they’ “a simple yet effective solution to address a range of issues related to safety, visibility and courteous riding practices.” Although the next step would likely be requiring bicyclists to use them — and holding them accountable if someone claims they didn’t. 

A new Canadian study shines a light on the dangers bike riders face in the country, but doesn’t offer any solutions.

Simon Cowell is back on his bicycle, albeit raising eyebrows by riding through a London borough wearing a puffer coat in 93°F weather.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a 62-year old truck driver walked without a day behind bars for killing a 56-year old mother riding a bicycle, in their equivalent of a right hook.

A British drug dealer will spend the next 70 months behind bars for shooting a bike theft victim who had tracked him down, and confronted him with a pickax handle. Another reminder to just let the police handle it. And don’t bring a pickax handle to a gun fight.

The Guardian visits a southwest London neighborhood that is the most dangerous place in Great Britain to ride a bike.

Sweden’s Hövding is back from the dead after being rescued from bankruptcy — but don’t call it an inflatable helmet anymore, because the new owners say it’s really an airbag.

NPR talks with a travel writer who took an off-road bicycle tour of Morocco.

Germany’s Marek Kaufman has reportedly been under state arrest in Iran for the past year, the Jewish bike tourist accused of espionage for making social media posts while near a heavy-water reactor in Markazi Province as he was riding through the country on a tourist visa.

World Bicycle Relief is distributing their Buffalo Bikes to Ugandans in need of reliable transportation, in hopes that the tougher, reinforced bicycle will stand up to the country’s rugged roads.

 

Competitive Cycling

Portuguese cyclist João Almeida dominated a mountain time trial on the final stage to claim overall victory in the Tour de Suisse, with Kévin Vauquelin second and Oscar Onley rounding out the podium.

A new German documentary says doping is still going on in pro cycling, they’re just using different drugs — like a cancer medication that’s also used to fight cardiovascular disease.

The team manager of French cycling team Groupama-FDJ repeated his call to ban race radios, power meters and GPS bike computers from competition, in an effort to slow the evolution of pro cycling and make the sport safer.

UCI is investigating Belgian cyclist Dries de Bondt and an unnamed EF Education-EasyPost director, after de Bondt allegedly helped the rival team’s Richard Carapaz over the Colle delle Finestre during last month’s Giro, with de Bondt saying later “it never hurts to market yourself.”

An Aussie ultracyclist will attempt to ride the entire 1,500-mile route of the original Tour de France in just six days, using a two-speed bike with the same gear ratio as the original riders.

Cyclist looks at the climbs that will decide this year’s Tour de France.

Benin’s women’s cycling team made history at the Maryland Cycling Classic, becoming the first women’s African national team to compete in a major American road race.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you rescue the kitten you just rescued after finding it hanging from a bicycle. Or when cycling celebrity makes you the stars of a Slovenian children’s book.

And now you, too, can ride your mountain bike in the name of science.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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