Sad news from Palm Springs, where a San Diego father died from heatstroke earlier this month after mountain biking outside the city.
According to San Diego’s 10 News, Paul Fox, a 53-year old father of three from the city’s Del Cero neighborhood, met a friend at the Palm Canyon Epic Trail south of Palm Springs in late April for what was planned as a three-hour ride.
However, despite GPS, they took a wrong turn somewhere along the trail, and ran out of water as three hours turned into six in temperatures up to 105°F.
Fox reportedly stopped suddenly and stepped off his bike acting dazed and confused, before collapsing and rolling down a hill.
He died in the hospital May 9th from complications due to heatstroke.
Fox, who a friend described as kind, funny and brilliant, worked as a computer network security specialist, including a four-year stint at the White House in the mid-2000s.
A commenter says she knew the victim, identifying her as a “beautiful, young, athletic, wife, mother,” while other comments confirm it was the person on the bicycle who was killed.
There’s no word on the condition of the motorcyclist.
Unfortunately, that’s all we know right now; hopefully we’ll get more information soon. If you know something, let me know if there’s anything you can share.
This is at least the fourth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year. And it’s already the third that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County, which is off to a very bad start to the new year.
Update: No word yet on how this crash occurred, but now we know who the victim was. And why so many in the local bicycling community were so upset when they got the news.
VeloNews is reporting that 42-year old retired pro endurance mountain biker Monique “Pua” Parmelee was the woman killed in Wednesday’s collision.
Parmelee, known as Pua Mata before her marriage to Chris Parmelee, was described as a “fierce and ferocious competitor” on the bike, but quiet, kindhearted and compassionate off it.
A native of Oahu, Hawaii, Monique Parmelee rose to prominence in the U.S. mountain bike scene in the early 2000s as a top cross-country rider on the National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) circuit. A tenacious and focused racer, Parmelee was known best as both Monique Sawicki and Pua Mata. She excelled at cross-country races that stretched beyond the typical hour-and-a-half duration, and began winning ultra-endurance and Marathon-length MTB events on the budding U.S. circuit. Parmelee also blossomed into one of the top 24-Hour solo MTB racers on the planet.
She claimed three U.S. titles in 24-Hour solo racing and seven national Marathon MTB titles. In 2009 Parmelee finished seventh place at the UCI Marathon MTB World Championships. Parmelee also won Costa Rica’s grueling La Ruta de los Conquistadores mountain bike race in 2012 and 2013, and finished second at the U.S. cross-country mountain bike national championships in 2013.
She leaves behind her husband and two young children, boys aged just six and four. A fundraising campaign for her family has raised over $36,000 of the $150,000 goal in just 24 hours.
I’m told the park near where she was killed is a popular exit point for mountain bikers coming off the local trails.
Correction: I initially spelled the victim’s last name as Parmalee, based on the spelling in the VeloNews story. However, I’m told by a family member that the correct spelling is Parmelee, and have corrected it throughout this story, including within the VeloNews quote.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Monique “Pua” Parmelee and all her family and loved ones.
Thanks to Victor Bale, Zachary Rynew and Cani for the heads-up.
He makes the case for the city council to get a head start on their promises to implement the Los Angeles mobility plan, rather than waiting for the inevitable drawn-out process to draft and approve an alternative to the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposal.
Schneider recommends ten streets currently scheduled for resurfacing work that they can start work on restriping right now.
Unless the councilmembers were just saying what they think we wanted to hear, with no intention of actually following through.
Today, four white men wearing black clothing and masks displayed a banner over the Highway 113 bicycle overpass that contained racist anti-Semitic statements.
We are sickened. White supremacy, hate and intimidation have no place here.
Caltrans forwards a notice that Camp Pendleton will close the bike path through the base for five days next month, so mark your calendar. And make plans to use the shoulder of the 5 Freeway through the base if you need to ride then.
Another notification to pass: Bike path from Pulgas Gate to south entrance to the San Onofre State Park will be closed for military operations from 15 to 19 September from 6:00 AM to 6 PM daily.
Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here, either. The New York Postcalls Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine an anti-car extremist for pushing a “pie-in-the-sky bike lane plan for the West Side Highway,” despite his record of 41 traffic violations in the past decade. Although bad driving ability is a pretty damn good reason to switch to bikes.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Congratulations, Los Angeles. We now beat the Bay Area in transit use, especially buses. The story wasn’t paywalled for me, for some reason; your results may vary.
LA Times readers sound off about what streets they’d like to see closed, after the city banned cars from Griffith Park Drive in the park. My first choice would be to close Hollywood Blvd to install a pedestrian plaza at Hollywood & Highland, followed by closing Broadway in DTLA, and Wilshire Blvd from Downtown to the coast.
About damn time. Los Angeles blacktop may not be black for long, as the city works to cover one million square feet of Pacoima streets and other paved surfaces with cooling reflective paint, which can lower surface temperatures up to 12° Fahrenheit. Of course, that’s just a small fraction of LA’s heat-sink paved surfaces. And something tells me they’re not building out the mobility plan when they do it. Thanks again to Robert Leone for the link.
The rich get richer. Santa Barbara County is beginning work on the new Santa Claus Lane bikeway, which will create a new Class I bikeway and multipurpose path connecting the California Coastal Trail to bike lanes on Carpinteria Ave.
Cities around the US are debating whether to keep pandemic-era road changes, as drivers, pedestrians, bike riders and diners debate who the streets are for. Although you know it’s not a serious report when they quote a spokesperson for the tiny drivers rights extremist group the National Motorists Association.
A 19-year old Durango, Colorado man faces DUI and vehicular homicide charges for the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding local fire captain; he abandoned his car, with the victim’s bike sill under the front fender, and the victim embedded in his windshield. At his age, the legal alcohol level is zero.
This, too, is the cost of traffic violence. A 42-year old State Department employee was killed when she was run down by a flatbed truck driver while riding her bike in Bethesda, Maryland; the diplomat had most recently served as head of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Section at the US Embassy in Kyiv.
Belgian pro Remco Evenepoel continued to hold onto to the red leader’s jersey in the Vuelta with a gap of 1:12 over Spain’s Enric Was; three-time defending champ Primož Roglič remains in striking distance at 1:53 back. All the American cyclists have dropped out of contention, with Lawson Craddock now the top US rider in 59th place, over 45 minutes back.
The LUX/CTS U19 cycling team, one of the most successful junior development teams, is shutting down at the end of this season, a victim of cycling’s failed sponsorship model.
Aguilar, the 2017 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion, was rushed into surgery to relieve bleeding on the brain, but suffered catastrophic brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.
The victim, identified only as a man in his 50s, was pronounced at the scene.
Investigators initially suspected he died as a result of a mountain biking crash, but later concluded his death was caused by some sort of undisclosed medical problem.
This is at least the 52nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
March 23, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on DA calls for review police shootings, LA hiker run over by e-mtn biker, and NBA star was sideswiped by passing driver
Way to get the story wrong.
The usually reliable My News LA reports the County Board of Supervisors will vote today on DA George Gascon’s request to appoint a special prosecutor for cases involving police misconduct.
While campaigning against Lacey, Gascon promised to review several high-profile fatal shootings involving multiple police agencies, including:
— Gardena police officers’ shooting of Ricardo Zeferino, 34, who was suspected of stealing a bicycle in June 2013;
Just one problem.
Zeferino was never suspected of stealing a bicycle, or anything else.
Zeferino was helping his brother search for his stolen bike, when police stopped two of their friends who were also assisting in the search. So Zeferino ran up, excitedly gesturing and insisting in Spanish that they had the wrong men.
Except none of the officers apparently understood Spanish. And when Zeferino allegedly made a sudden gesture to his waist that no one else could seem to see, they blew him away.
Which means the only crime he committed was trying to tell a group of trigger happy, possibly racist, cops they were screwing up.
I don’t know if they belong in jail for an overreaction that cost an innocent man his life.
But they sure as hell don’t belong on the force, in Gardena or anywhere else.
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Ms. Honey Bunnyman forwards a Nextdoor post describing a mountain biker behaving very badly, which we’re reposting with the victim’s permission.
Seriously, don’t be that guy.
Always ride safely around anyone on foot. Which includes keeping ebikes off trails where they’re not allowed, and riding with respect for others anywhere they are.
And if you know who this guy is, tell him hit-and-run applies on off-road trails, too.
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We finally have an explanation for how former NBA star Shawn Bradley received the injuries that left him paralyzed as he rode his bike near his Utah home.
According to USA Today, Bradley was apparently injured when he was sideswiped by a passing driver, causing him to crash into a parked car.
Even though police found a fresh scratch on the passenger side of the driver’s van, apparently from Bradley’s bike.
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America Walks is calling for you to demand stronger protections for bike riders and pedestrians in the MUTCD, aka the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, which serves as the bible for traffic engineers.
And tell the former Mayor Pete, who now heads the US Department of Transportation, to make it better.
We need a MUTCD that puts the safety of people walking and moving over the convenience of people in cars. Use our template to tell @SecretaryPete to rewrite the MUTCD in a way that puts safety and equity first. It should take about 5 minutes. https://t.co/SfGzSOVQCspic.twitter.com/vwGNcaIJcX
A San Jose area bike rider paints a dramatic image of a bad road.
And Angeleno riders should take notes, because our streets aren’t much better.
Q:El Camino Real is so bad that I broke a bicycle spoke crossing at El Monte. It’s worse now than when it was first created back in the 1760s as a dirt road. I fear the Ghost of Father Serra will return to haunt the California highway department. It will be a well-earned haunting.
AB 122, which would allow California bike riders to join the nationwide trend of treating stop signs as yields, has passed its first hurdle in the Assembly Transportation Committee, as a retired Davis police chief said the bill is embraced by the vast majority of police officers. Which is a big change from previous attempts at a similar bill, which were derailed by opposition from the CHP and AAA.
Fifty years after Oregon made a groundbreaking commitment to spend at least 1% of the state highway fund on biking and walking projects, the state legislature is considering raising that to 5%. Which compares favorably to California’s longstanding commitment to not making a commitment to fund them. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the link.
A UK resident got screwed by Brexit after ordering a bike from a Polish bike shop and being told there would be no import duties on it. Except it was returned to the shop during the chaos as the county left the European Union, and when the shop reshipped it, it arrived with the equivalent of over $2,700 in taxes due upon delivery.
India’s homegrown Hero Cycles is looking to expand its ebike sales worldwide, as it opens a new international headquarters in London and expands its factory to make up to ten million bikes a year. Which only sounds like a lot because it is.
Thanks to Samer S, Terence H, Michael S, Matthew H and Georgia M for their generous donations to help keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
And help keep it free for everyone, while keeping you informed — and hopefully, entertained a little.
Thirty-two-year old Lake Forest resident Rogelio Martinez-Cuin was sentenced after pleading guilty to felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run with permanent and serious injury, as well as driving with a suspended license.
Martinez-Cuin was reportedly speeding and ran a red light before slamming into Tomlinson’s bike.
He was arrested after abandoning his car about a mile away.
In a heart-rending coda to the tragedy, Tomlinson’s wife learned about the crash when she drove up on the scene in his final moments.
Hit-and-run carries a maximum penalty of four years in California, while vehicular manslaughter is punishable by a max of six years in state prison.
That suggests that Martinez-Cuin may have accepted a plea, or else lucked out with a lenient judge.
The first episode of the Chasing History series was released this week, as they become the first cycling team from a Historically Black College or University, aka HBCU, to take to the streets.
Another day, another Amazon driver blocking the bike lane.
Unmarked van in Sunset Boulevard bike lanes with a dashboard full of Amazon packages. And there was a parking space two car lengths ahead. pic.twitter.com/PgIfyAK3RO
You may finally be able to rent a scooter or dockless ebike in WeHo, leaving Beverly Hills as the Westside’s lone e-scooter desert.
BREAKING – West Hollywood City Council voted 5-0 to overturn the scooter ban! Three pilot operators should be able to operate very soon in the city. This also impacts dockless e-bikes. Thanks to all that took the time to make public comment! https://t.co/q3apHJgBmA
Sixty-three Denver 2nd graders got new bicycles, courtesy of carbon belt-drive maker Gates Corp.’s fourth annual bicycle giveaway. And yes, they all got belt-drive bikes.
Now you can finally predict how likely a driver is to be drunk based solely on what they drive.
Funny not funny: New study analyzes which owners of various car and truck models are most likely to get DUIs. Not surprisingly truck and luxury-car owners top the list. (h/t @mattposh). One in 22 Ram 2500 owners has had a DUI.https://t.co/VwlHIz0lJgpic.twitter.com/5oI8mQYofR
In parliament, Dec 18, former Tory chief whip Lord Blencathra asked roads minister Baroness Vere — @CharlotteV — when DfT would introduce £5k fines & 6 months imprisonment for those who ride on pavements or block same with “heavyweight” e-bikes. Motorists? Carry on as before. pic.twitter.com/14eISP4iA7
Roy Wallack wrote that bicycling would help you live to be 100.
Sadly, he didn’t make it.
The Irvine resident, author of Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100, was just 64 year old when he died following a crash on the Guadalasca Trail in Pt. Magu State Park Saturday morning.
According to the Ventura County Star, Wallack was riding with friends on the difficult trail when he fell around 9:20 am, although he had not been publicly identified yet in the original story.
The crash took place on the Guadalasca Trail, he said, which cuts through steep, technical terrain near the Backbone Trail. The cyclist, a man in his 60s, had reportedly been riding with friends when he crashed his bike and lost consciousness, Worthy said. The cyclist’s city of residence was not immediately known Saturday.
The man’s friends called for emergency medical assistance and performed CPR until the sheriff’s helicopter arrived with paramedics and a flight nurse. The crew continued life-saving measures but the cyclist did not survive and was pronounced dead at the scene, Worthy said.
And yes, he was wearing a helmet.
A former columnist for the LA Times, Wallack was a prolific writer, according to the Star.
A Google search shows he’s the author of at least eight other fitness books.
The Times describes Wallack as a avid hiker, runner and bicyclist who took part in the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, as well as the 750-mile Paris-Brest-Paris bike tour.
Wallack’s work for The Times spanned barre classes, triathlons, kayaking, the L.A. Marathon and more. He penned a gear column for many years, keeping fitness fans in the loop about the hottest must-haves.
He began a 2016 piece: “Hiking the Grand Canyon was not on my bucket list. A marathon, yes. Bike 200 miles in a day, yes. Ironman triathlon, absolutely. But for some reason, a mere day hike, even in one of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders, was never on my radar.”
Wallack ended up being won over by the 15-mile trek, describing it as “an otherworldly journey into a land before time” and “a true bucket-list adventure.”
The paper also describes his efforts to keep his 84-year old father active, despite being housebound by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The paper reports that he recently finished one last book, about Richard Long, the founder of GT Bicycles, who was killed in a collision with a truck while riding his motorcycle to a bike race in Big Bear in 1994.
Tributes were beginning to pour in as word of his death began to spread Sunday evening.
RIP Roy Wallack. You were always so fun to work with, your copy a joy to read, your passion for all things endurance and outdoor adventure inspiring. https://t.co/JsUrGnuTW0
RIP journo Roy Wallack who died earlier today after crashing his MTB in the Santa Monica mountains. We rode together each year at Press Camp in Utah. One year he gave me his book, “Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100 and Beyond.” He was 64. pic.twitter.com/5zkqM8nZhf
But take a little time and money today to give to someone or something. Even if it’s just handing a few bucks to a homeless person, or dropping it into the Salvation Army kettle.
Because there are a lot of people who need help out there right now. And giving from the heart will do you as much good as it does them.
Pink Bike’s latest podcast raises the question of what it takes to be a responsible mountain biker.Hint: Don’t leave the trail or surrounding woodlands worse than you found them. Better yet, don’t leave any sign you were even there.
Unlike virtually every other major city, Paris vows to fight back against the jump in bike theft inspired by the coronavirus bike boom. That compares with Santa Monica, where I’m told the cops couldn’t be bothered to investigate and recover a $5,000 stolen bike after the owner spotted it for sale online; sadly, it had already been sold by the time he realized they didn’t give a damn.
It was a little quieter day on Monday for the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive after a very busy opening weekend. Thanks to Janice H for her generous support to help keep bringing SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy coming to your favorite device every morning.
Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
More sad news from Riverside County, where a mountain biker has been found dead nearly three weeks after he disappeared while riding near Hemet.
According to My News LA, 45-year old Hemet resident Brian Darrell Grangaard was reported missing after he failed to return from riding in Santa Rosa Hills on May 25th.
Grangaard had apparently lost control while descending steep the curvy road, and ridden off the roadway at a high rate of speed.
He is believed to have died the same day.
There are now helmets, smart watches, and other devices that can report your exact location in the event of a fall or collision. While something like that could have aided in the search, there’s no way to know at this time if rescuers could have gotten to Grangaard before he succumbed to his injuries.
