Sad news to report, as a beloved member of the Los Angeles bicycling community has died.
Paul Bacca, better known by his street name DJ Chicken Leather, was active for years as a volunteer with Midnight Ridazz and Critical Mass, as well as the Bike Kitchen and Bike Oven co-ops.
But he was best known for his ever-present handheld camera, questioning riders, cops and city officials whenever and wherever a bike event took place.
Anytime bike riders were present, he was bound to be there, too, with a ready smile and effervescent personality, despite his own struggles.
I lost track of him in recent years, as I became less active in the bicycling community due to my own health issues. I don’t know what happened to him or how he died, or even how or where he was found.
And to be honest, I don’t think it really matters.
But it was always a joy to encounter him at CicLAvia or City Hall, even if that camera made you want to hide at times.
Rest in power, friend. All your struggles are over, and your demons behind you.
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The parents of 19-year old Haylan Engdahl, one of the two members of the Milligan University cycling team killed in a mass casualty crash by a possible wake-and-bake driver, have asked for donations to The White Line in lieu of flowers.
The nonprofit bike safety organization was founded by the parents of 17-year old US Cycling Team member Magnus White, who was killed by a driver who had been up all night drinking and getting high.
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One of my pet peeves is lazy headline writers, like this one, who say that a bike rider was killed after a collision.
Which literally means the victim survived the crash, only to somehow be murdered afterwards.
You can say the victim died after the crash — like this headline — was killed as because of a crash, or was killed in the crash or by the driver. But you can’t say, as far too many writers do, that someone was killed after the crash, unless the driver got out and strangled them afterwards.
And yes, I know that’s just the English major in me coming out to enforce laws of grammar that I willfully break myself.
And yes, I also know that peeves make lousy pets.
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No, KABC-7, cellphone video does not show an ebike takeover of the right lanes of the 91 Freeway in Long Beach.
It shows kids on illegal e-motos and dirt bikes popping wheelies and swerving between lanes; there’s not a single actual Class 1, 2 or 3 ebike visible anywhere in the group.
But it does appear to show a driver illegally using a handheld cellphone behind the wheel.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bike just keeps on going.
An apparent road-raging Florida driver was caught on video veering his SUV into a group of bicyclists before opening fire with a gun. Although if the same thing happened here, I’d question whether it was a gang driveby rather than a road rage confrontation.
You’ve got to be kidding. A Florida man is asking a judge to dismiss charges against him for taking a boy’s cellphone away, asserting that the state’s Stand Your Ground law allowed him to defend himself and another man from a little kid who had been filming himself popping wheelies on an ebike.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Singaporean service man was sentenced to a week behind bars for negligent bicycling after he crashed into an 83-year old woman on his rented bike; the woman died two days later after suffering a fractured skull.
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Local
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton checks out the new curb-protected bike lanes being built on Alameda Street, connecting Union Station with the LA State Historic Park.
The Los Angeles Times shockingly discovers that there are some Angelenos who actually get around without a car. However, as we all know, that kind of anti-social behavior should be shunned and shamed by the normal car-driving populous.
Long Beach expects the city’s new speed cams to bring in around $5 million annually, hiring 12 people to administer the program, and using the funds to improve street safety.
State
Orange County is considering a proposal to put scannable license plates on ebikes, which would require a change in state law, and also appears to lump all ebikes together — even though the problem comes from people riding illegal e-motorbikes and dirt bikes, which probably wouldn’t be licensed because they’re…wait for it…illegal.
Encinitas is also considering new ebike laws that would require a change in state law, which allows bicycles on any roadway open to automobiles, other than some restricted access highways.
A San Diego County writer says yes, ebikes can be dangerous, but experts say it’s really the streets and bike lanes that need to be fixed.
A beloved Lafayette bike shop is shutting its doors after a mere 101 years.
National
That’s more like it. Seattle’s mayor signed an executive order to speed up the city’s Vision Zero program, including fixing an intersection where a bike rider was killed. That compares favorably to a certain SoCal metropolis, where the mayor cancels shovel-ready safety improvements, and doesn’t seem to know the city even has a Vision Zero program.
Cambridge, Massachusetts is building more bike lanes this summer, as required by a city ordinance adopted in 2020.
A 14-mile Rhode Island bike path follows the route of a 171-year old rail line around Narragansett Bay, offering views of the bay, as well as light houses.
New Yorkers are fed up with “crazy” bikeshare prices.
International
Bike Radar examines the trends that led to their shortlist for Gravel Bike of the Year. You know, trends like, uh, gravel racing.
Toronto bicyclists are planning to make this week’s Critical Mass ride a protest against Ontario’s plan to rip out the city’s bike lanes. Meanwhile, Toronto’s mayor says Ontario Premier Doug Ford should be focused on Donald Trump, and not the city’s bike lanes.
Seriously? An English city is considering redesigning a new bike lane after drivers complained that it’s too wide and too confusing, causing congestion and slowing them down too much.
No disconnect here. Nearly 80% of Irish kids never bike to school, even though 70% of their parents say that’s the preferred method of getting there.
A dangerous new trend in England and Ireland shows young drivers posting video of themselves driving on the wrong side of the roadway. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
An employee of a Korean bicycle company was acquitted of causing the death of a 66-year old man in a head-on collision on a bicycle path, after the court concluded that the victim was riding on the wrong side of the path, and may not have taken proper care to avoid the crash.
Speaking of Singapore, as we were earlier, local bicyclists are calling for mutual respect from their peers and other road users, as bicycling collisions hit a four-year high. So the real problem causing crashes is that bike riders don’t respect one another?
Competitive Cycling
There was no winner of the Vuelta’s third stage on Monday, after the stage was neutralized when a sudden hailstorm forced riders to take cover in nearby hotels. Eyewitnesses dramatically described seeing nothing happen in the race.
Briton’s Ethan Hayter missed out on a chance to take the Vuelta leader’s jersey in stage 2 when he was reeled in after a long breakaway, and after taking a pair of scissors to his skinsuit because the legs were too tight.
The manager of double Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard has taken UCI to task for their response, or the lack thereof, to the death of 19-year old Welsh cyclist Finlay Tarling, arguing that competitors have a right to expect a safe course.
An Oakland cartoonist has penned a graphic biography of Marshall “Major” Taylor, the early bike racer who was America’s first Black sporting champ, and for a time, the world’s fastest man.
Finally…
Now you, too, can shove a newspaper down your jersey instead of investing in a proper jacket this winter. Probably not the best idea to — allegedly — steal an ebike, then try to collect a $100 reward for finding it.
And what the hell did they think would happen when the Vuelta hired a social media commentator whose only expertise was filming herself flirting with strangers?
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
