Tag Archive for Matthew Bullard

CD15 mobility debate, SGV state Senator Anthony Portantino is one of us, and Bullard crowdfund passes $73,00

April 14, 2022 / / One comment

Streets For All continues to take the lead vetting candidates for the upcoming city election by hosting yet another virtual candidate debate.

This time the group is hosting three of the four candidates to replace CD15 Councilmember Joe Buscaino in LA’s oddly drawn 15th council district, which stretches from San Pedro to Watts.

Not participating is self-described businessman and community advocate Anthony Santich.

Meanwhile, Buscaino’s mayoral campaign is languishing at the bottom of the pack with just 1% of support from likely voters, after billionaire Rick Caruso’s massively self-financed campaign outflanked him to the right of the city’s otherwise liberal field.

Caruso and Karen Bass lead the field, with 24% and 23%, respectively.

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Speaking of Streets For All, the transportation PAC talks with California state Senator Anthony Portantino, who represents the San Gabriel Valley’s 25th district.

And yes, he’s one of us now.

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The crowdfunding campaign to benefit the families of Whittier’s fallen Bullard brothers, who were killed by an alleged DUI driver in Saturday’s Tour of St. George, Utah, has now exceeded $73,000 of the $100,000 goal in just two days, driven in part by members of Utah’s bicycling community.

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Maybe hi-viz isn’t the answer after all.

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

Four Pennsylvania teens are accused of riding around town threatening people with a replica AK-47-style gun, shooting someone on a bicycle with airsoft pellets.

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Local

The route and the final environmental study for the new 19-mile NoHo to Pasadena rapid bus line will go before the Metro Board later this month; the plan appears to incorporate many of the elements from the resident-designed Beautiful Boulevard plan.

Hats off to Santa Monica-based Bird for piloting a free, first-of-its-kind program to provide motorized attachments for New York wheelchair users.

 

State 

Despite San Diego’s avowed commitment to long-term climate goals, the city’s nonprofit Climate Action Campaign says area cities aren’t doing enough, and moving too slowly in the face of the climate emergency. On the other hand, they’re moving a lot faster than a certain megalopolis to the north we could name.

A group of Ventura middle school students have created a new kind of tote bag for a local food bank, making it easier to carry on a bicycle.

Road.cc highlights 12 “show stopping” bikes from Monterey’s annual Sea Otter Classic.

Arcata explains their new two-stage bike boxes, which eliminates the need for bike riders to filer across three lanes of a one-way street to make a left turn. Although it does mean waiting through up to two light cycles.

 

National

Beware of a recent nationwide jump in road raging drivers, many of whom may be armed after a surge in gun sales during the pandemic.

Bullshit. Forbes considers what types of bikes are best for seniors, which they seem to define as anyone over 55, including ebikes, cruisers and adult trikes. Never mind that many people ride road and mountain bikes well into their 70s, and sometimes 80s. The right bike for you depends entirely on your relative fitness and the kind of riding you want to do, regardless of your age.

The List examines what happens to your body when you ride a bike every day. Hint: It’s all good.

The Cherokee Nation introduced the six young women who will participate in this year’s Remember the Removal Bike Ride, which follows the northern route of the infamous Trail of Tears for 950 miles through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma; this is the first time the participants have been made up entirely of Cherokee women.

It’s official in Colorado, where the governor signed a bill allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields and red lights like stop signs; the law, which takes effect immediately, also applies to other “slow speed” conveyances, including ebikes, e-scooters, skateboards and wheelchairs.

A St. Paul MN writer recalls the “scorcher” menace of the 1890’s, which marked the beginning of the anti-bike bias we still enjoy today.

Streetsblog concludes there’s a little truth — very little — in an article criticizing a new protected bike lane for a drop in local retail sales, rather than poor business practices or right-wing politics.

Georgia police investigators are criticized for not knowing the state’s bike laws, blaming a young woman for her own death because she didn’t have a rear light on her bike or hi-vis clothing, even though neither are require in the state. And even though she was run down by a woman stoned on meth and valium, as well as two other drugs.

 

International

Cycling News rates the best helmets for ebike riders. Which are evidently different than the best helmets for non-electric bikes, for some reason.

A 19-year old British bike rider blames a local housing association after he collided with a collapsed fence and was impaled through the chest by a fence pole.

A new Dutch study offers some much-needed perspective on the relative dangers of ebikes, revealing that ebike riders are 1.6 times more likely to end up in the emergency room than people on traditional bikes — compared to two times more likely for people on racing bikes, and three times more likely for mountain bikers. Which kind of refutes many of the panicked reports we’ve been seeing about the dangers posed by ebikes.

Vision Zero is apparently working in the Netherlands, where traffic deaths are half what they were 20 years ago, although more people were killed riding bikes than in cars. Meanwhile, a road safety group calls for mandatory helmets for anyone over 60, who account for half of the country’s bicycling fatalities.

A Malaysian lawyer called for people to pray for the woman convicted of killing eight teens riding the popular basikal lajak modified bicycles, after she was sentenced to a well-deserved six ears behind bars, along with a fine of a little more that $1,400.

An Aussie tow truck driver was allegedly high on crystal meth when he ran a stop sign and killed a 43-year old man riding a bicycle.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling star Peter Sagan has temporarily stepped away from racing to deal with lingering health problems following his second bout with Covid. He’s not calling it long Covid, but others are. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

French world champion Julian Alaphilippe was taken down by his own team car during Belgium’s one-day Brabantse Pijl classic.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the cops responsible for catching bike thieves are the ones stealing them. Or when a bicycle-themed NFT group decides they’re not about NFTs after all.

And it’s probably a bad thing when your ebike foldie has a tendency to break in half.

Or maybe that’s just me.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Crowdfunding for families of fallen Bullard brothers, ebikes booming despite short supplies, and register for coming LA rides

April 13, 2022 / / Comments Off on Crowdfunding for families of fallen Bullard brothers, ebikes booming despite short supplies, and register for coming LA rides

Following up on yesterday’s lead story, a crowdfunding campaign is raising money for the families of Adam and Matthew Bullard.

The brothers were killed Saturday by an alleged DUI driver near the finish line of the Tour of St. George, Utah. The driver infamously claimed she lost control of her car after losing control of her bowels, while failing every field sobriety test.

Adam leaves behind his wife and son, while Matt is survived by his wife and four children.

The fund has raised more than $61,000 of the $100,000 goal in just the first day.

Photo of Adam and Matthew Bullard from Adam Bullard’s Facebook page. 

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The bike boom goes on, along with the concomitant supply chain problems.

Inc. calls soaring gas prices a double-edged sword for ebike and e-scooter companies, as fuel prices drive demand while raising their own transportation costs.

A Cleveland TV station says the bike boom is entering its third year, as high gas prices drive demand for gas-free transportation options.

Bloomberg looks at the supply problems faced by the world’s largest bikemaker, Taiwan’s Giant Manufacturing Group, concluding shortages may continue through this year as the company looks to diversify where its bikes are made.

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Celebrate Easter/Passover by signing up for what may be the world’s only cookie-themed fondo.

Meanwhile, there’s just two days left to get a discount when you register for May 1st’s Finish the Ride and Finish the Run in Griffith Park; use code GP20 to register before midnight Thursday.

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Be on the lookout for a hit-and-run driver who ran down an e-scooter rider last week.

https://twitter.com/BigFredOnABike/status/1513951971459284994

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

A 50-year old Utah man faces charges for shooting a 13-year old girl with a BB gun when she confronted him about breaking her friend’s bicycle; he was already on home confinement after being sentenced for DUI and being a felon in possession of a gun.

No bias here. A 70-acre park in Oxford, England posted a sign banning bicycles “whether ridden or not,” despite being bordered by a shared use path; one bike rider justifiably called it ridiculous, discriminatory and petty.

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Local

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that reported bike thefts are climbing in Los Angeles, up six percent over last year, following a decline the past few years from the high of 2017. Although that decline may or may not be accurate, since many people never report their stolen bikes to the police, so theft figures likely reflect a dramatic undercount.

Members of the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition rallied at Pasadena City Hall last night to call for safer streets in the city.

 

State 

Road.cc takes a loving look at a bespoke bicycle famed California bikemaker Tom Ritchey built for his dad 50 years ago when he was just 17, incorporating unique features that were decades ahead of their time.

San Diego continues to demonstrate how not to roll out new bike infrastructure, as residents of the Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood complain that they weren’t notified before parking spaces were removed and bike lanes striped, while the local councilwoman says no one informed her office, either.

 

National

Not so rad news from Seattle ebike maker Rad Power Bikes, which is laying off nearly 14% of its current workforce, in what the company describes as a restructuring; the bikemaker’s in-house service department is getting the ax as it outsources its customer service operations.

Police in Boulder, Colorado recovered three stolen bikes — including two chainless prototype bikes worth $70,000 — when the thief walked into a bike shop with a hot $12,000 ebike and a pair of bolt cutters.

Chicago aldermen are working on a proposal to allow drivers who block bike lanes to be ticketed based on bike cam video. It’s also worth noting that the Windy City has 50 members on its Board of Aldermen, while Los Angeles has just 15 city councilmembers, despite 1.1 million more residents. 

A research group at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University is reinventing the traffic light, using real-time adaptive technology to improve the flow of all road users — not just cars — while reducing red light waiting times.

A 27-year old New York man has amazed his doctors by walking again, less than two years, and five surgeries, after he was paralyzed in a dooring; now his goal is to compete in fencing at the 2026 Paralympic Games.

 

International

A writer for T3 calls out three mistakes every ebike buyer makes, including buying a cheap bike, thinking ebikes are really fast, and breaking the law. Everyone being a relative term, of course, since countless people don’t do any of those things. 

No bias here, either. A British paper reported a fresh call to remove a two-way bike lane — but based the entire story on the opinion of a single person, who called the lane a “white elephant.”

Bicycling injuries are spiking in the Netherlands, climbing a third over the past decade, although most aren’t the result of car crashes.

No surprise here, either, as a Norwegian study shows ebike buyers doubled their transportation riding, while quadrupling how far they ride in just six months.

 

Competitive Cycling

Subscribers to NBC’s Peacock streaming service can watch this weekend’s Paris-Roubaix, with the women’s race Saturday, and the men’s on Sunday.

Pro cyclist Hugo Hofstetter called for stricter regulations of disc brakes after he needed 35 stitches when the brake rotor sliced through his helmet in a fall.

 

Finally…

That feeling when someone is wheelie a fan of your work. Or when it takes 10 years, 8 months and 12 days to notch your second win. But who’s counting?

And who says you can’t carry a 30-foot flagpole on your bike?

Let alone for 35 miles.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Utah crash victims identified as Whittier brothers, San Diego bikeway fail, and Santa Ana Karen assaults bike-riding boy

April 12, 2022 / / Comments Off on Utah crash victims identified as Whittier brothers, San Diego bikeway fail, and Santa Ana Karen assaults bike-riding boy

Sadly, our worst fears have been realized.

On Saturday, two men identified only as brothers from California were killed when they were run down from behind by a repeat DUI driver near St. George, Utah, who claimed to be on fentanyl from being hospitalized the day before.

And told police she lost control of her car after losing control of her bowels as she was driving.

Yesterday officials confirmed the rumors spreading through the Los Angeles bicycling community were true, identifying the victims as Whittier’s Bullard brothers.

Forty-nine-year old Adam Bullard, who worked at La Mirada’s Cyclerly Bike Shop, and 48-year old Matthew Bullard were described as inseparable in life, as they were, tragically, in death; Adam’s Facebook full of bikes, while Matthew’s was devoted to family.

Another rider participating in the tour says he wishes he could forget what he saw in the aftermath of the crash, including the brothers’ shattered helmets, and shattered shards of their carbon frames strewn throughout the street.

He also reports a pair of teens in cycling gear were standing by their bodies, screaming about their dads.

Read into that what you will. But it fits with rumors that the Bullard’s teenage sons were among the first riders to come upon the scene shortly after the crash.

Adam’s last post is particularly heartbreaking in retrospect.

Their accused killer, 47-year old Julie Budge, faces twin counts of vehicular homicide, DUI and hit-and-run, as well as single counts of reckless driving and failure to stay in her lane.

She continues to be held without bail, no doubt to the relief of everyone else on the roads.

Budge was previously convicted of DUI seven years ago.

Photo of Adam and Matthew Bullard taken from Adam Bullard’s Facebook page. 

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Like Los Angeles before it, San Diego has learned the hard way that traffic safety projects are doomed to fail if they’re not rolled out carefully.

In LA’s case, it was the failed installation of road diets and bike lanes in Playa del Rey, which were unceremoniously ripped out at the mayor’s orders when angry drivers got out their torches and pitchforks, after getting no advance notice the changes were coming.

For San Diego, it came with the rollout of an innovative street design called advisory bike lanes, which retains curbside parking on a low-traffic street, while reducing the roadway to a single through lane, with bike lanes on either side.

Drivers traveling in either direction are supposed to share the center lane, while briefly moving into the bike lanes to pass another vehicle.

The problem was a) local residents in the city’s Mira Mesa neighborhood claimed they didn’t know it was coming, and b) had no idea how to drive in it.

The city apparently went ahead with the installation despite the lack of approval from San Diego’s Mobility Board.

And just as it did in Los Angeles, San Diego bike riders worried that the inevitable bikelash would doom plans to install advisory lanes elsewhere in the city.

Which is exactly what happened.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria personally went door to tell residents he had ordered the removal of the advisory lanes, and the street was going back to what it had been before.

Just like Los Angeles did. Although our mayor didn’t meet with angry drivers, let alone knock on anyone’s door.

The botched rollout, and the angry response that followed, has virtually halted all road diets in the City of Angels for five years and counting.

Let’s just hope San Diego’s advisory laws don’t suffer the same fate.

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An 80-year old Santa Ana woman faces charges after physically assaulting a 12-year old boy for riding his bike on the sidewalk.

The woman, known on social media as the “Neighborhood Karen,” confronted the boy and grabbed his handlebars, while ordering him to “get the hell off the sidewalk.”

He can then be heard asking why she hit him, to which the woman replied, “Want me to hit you again?”

All of which was caught on camera, since he was trying out his new chest-mounted GoPro.

Never mind that his mother had told him to stick to the sidewalk, because he had recently been knocked off his bike by a driver.

And never mind that it’s perfectly legal to ride a bike on most sidewalks in the Orange County city.

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A homeless camp cleanup along the LA River bike path could force riders to detour onto other routes for the next week.

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KTLA-5’s Frank Buckley is one of us, spotting a semi-flying car on his latest ride.

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

Police in Austin, Texas are looking for a road raging driver who intentionally swerved into a man riding a bike, then kept going without slowing down; the assault was captured on another rider’s a helmet cam, who just happened to be facing the street as he spoke with another man.

No bias here. A Malaysian bike rider gets the blame for slamming into a woman who stepped through a condo gate and into the pathway he was riding on, even though she stepped right in front of his bike without ever looking in his direction.

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

A Manchester, New Hampshire man faces a negligent homicide charge after crashing his bicycle into a 69-year old man walking in a crosswalk

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Local

CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman and LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds celebrated the opening of the new parking-protected bike lanes on Riverside Drive just south of Griffith Park.

Metro is offering free bikeshare, bus and train rides on Earth Day, while Metrolink will offer free rides throughout their network.

Advance parking prices at Dodger Stadium jumped another $5 this year, to $25. But riding a bike to the ball park is still free.

 

State 

Nice to know the world may be on fire, but former California Transportation Commissioner Lucy Dunn somehow thinks traffic congestion is the state’s biggest problem, and the state should make it easier for us to all just keep on driving.

 

National

Bloomberg considers why Vision Zero has succeeded in Europe, but failed repeatedly in American cities, including Los Angeles, noting that it’s easy to commit to Vision Zero, without actually doing anything different.

No bias here. An Idaho letter writer complains about “arrogant” bike riders who hog the road by riding side-by-side, forcing drivers to — gasp! — actually slow down until it’s safe to pass. And he must know what he’s talking about, since his family owns two bikes.

The Kansas woman who pled guilty last month to running over and shooting a bike-riding because he smiled and gestured towards her has changed her mind, and now insists she didn’t do it; she’s asking the judge to allow her to change her plea.

Sad news from Arkansas, where a crowdfunding campaign has raised over $45,000 for a young Arkansas bicyclist who suffered critical burns over 63% of his body when a gas line ruptured while he was working on his truck, just before he was supposed to help lead a weekly ride; doctors give him a 50/50 chance of survival.

New York City will shut down over 100 streets to celebrate Earth Day later this month. Meanwhile, Los Angeles officials will undoubtedly mark the day by making a few pronouncements about how important it is to save the earth, while doing absolutely nothing about it.

 

International

Barron’s says bike tourism is the next frontier in luxury travel. 

Road.cc examines a new vehicle-to-everything system that promises to alert drivers to the presence of bike riders, and the other way around. But like every other similar system, it only works if both the driver and the person on the bike have it installed and activated. And it isn’t likely to be compatible with other systems. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Several riders competing in the Tour of Turkey crashed into a pedestrian walking in the roadway with his back to the peloton, as well as a fan who tried to pull the man out of the way; French sprinter Nacer Bouhanni was taken to a hospital with undisclosed injuries.

Italian pro Samuele Battistella was lucky to escape with a broken tooth and seven stitches to his face after hitting an unsecured piece of road furniture during Sunday’s Amstel Gold classic, and lying unconscious for 20 minute.

No wonder cyclists are so popular on dating apps.

 

Finally…

Who needs reflectors when your entire ebike frame glows in the dark? If you have to get run down by a hit-and-run driver, try to do it in front of a fire truck while everyone is watching.

And if you’re going to deliver a flying kick to a passing bike rider, try not to miss.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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