Tag Archive for San Diego

Anger boils after deadly WeHo hit-and-run on Fountain Ave, and 79-year old San Diego man injured in crash with bike rider

July 14, 2025 / / No comments
Day 195 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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A handful of protesters turned out on Friday evening to demand safety improvements on Fountain Ave, following the Thursday night hit-and-run that killed 26-year old Blake Ackerman.

According to WeHo Times,

Local cyclist and advocate Nicholas Renteria organized a grassroots demonstration at the intersection of Fountain Avenue and Gardner Street, where the deadly collision occurred on Thursday, July 10, around 9:47 p.m. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the victim, Blake Ackerman, 26, was riding westbound on Fountain when he was hit by an older-model BMW sedan, which fled the scene. The victim was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.

Anger has built following Ackerman’s death because individuals and advocacy groups have demanded action on the deadly corridor for more than a decade.

Plans have finally begun moving forward over the past few years, but are hung up by the usual demands to persevere parking at the expense of human lives.

As calls for accountability grow louder, local leaders have pointed to upcoming initiatives like the Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project, which aims to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety with measures such as protected bike lanes and wider sidewalks. A community meeting about the project is scheduled for August 19 at Plummer Park.

Renteria hopes awareness leads to action before another life is lost. “This isn’t a fight between drivers and cyclists,” he said. “It’s a fight between people and a government that’s not being responsive.”

In addition to the community meeting next month, plans are underway for a ghost bike to be installed in the coming days.

You’ll know more when I do.

Photo: Streets For All and Measure HLA stickers on a bicycle parked at Lowes Home Improvement in Mid-City LA Sunday afternoon.

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A 79-year old man was seriously injured when he was struck by a bike rider while walking in a bike lane in San Diego’s Clairemont neighborhood.

The victim was hospitalized with a skull fracture and a brain bleed.

No word yet on what he was doing in the bike lane, or why the bicyclist was unable to avoid him.

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

Another Canadian province appears to be going the wrong way, as the provincial government of Alberta is “actively reviewing” bike lanes that have raised the ire of some residents, with the government questioning both current and planned bike lanes that “reduce road capacity.”

Police in Australia are looking for six men who brutally beat a man riding a bicycle in an apparent road rage attack; the occupants of two vehicles chased a pair of bike riders following an argument, before jumping the curb and beating one of the bike riders with baseball bats. The other rider somehow got away.

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

A New York teenager riding an ebike was killed a hit-and-run driver while he was being pursued by police who suspected him of a knifepoint robbery; a 28-year old driver was arrested for the hit-and-run shortly later.

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Local 

Streets For All offered their July newsletter, including news that a total of $7 million has been approved to move forward with necessary technical and environmental clearance work on the proposed extension of the Ballona Creek bike path.

 

State

Police in Huntington Beach busted a bike thief who stole a bait bike valued at over $2,000, enough to qualify for felony charges. Yet the LAPD still won’t use bait bikes, following outdated advice from the City Attorney’s office that it could be considered entrapment

 

National

Bike Magazine recommends a selection of the year’s best bike locks, depending on your needs.

Outside highlights seven of the best bikepacking trip across the US. None of which are in California.

A hit-and-run driver left an Oregon woman lying in a ditch all night after they crashed into her bike sometime Saturday night; she was found by a passerby after 7 Sunday morning suffering from serious leg, facial, and other injuries. The driver should be charged with attempted murder when they find them for making the conscious decision to risk the victim’s life by leaving her there to die. 

Sad news from Nevada, where the founder of Bob’s Bikes died following a battle with prostate cancer; retired mechanic Bob Crane had repaired and given away more than one thousand bicycles for needy kids.

A Wyoming website recommends putting a bell on your mountain bike, as well as shouting and carrying bear spray, to reduce the risk of deadly bear encounters. Mountain lions seem to pose a bigger risk on SoCal trails; I can’t recall a mountain biker mauled by a bear down here, even though we have a lot of ’em. 

Now even the trees are out to get us. Someone riding a bicycle was killed in Urbandale, Iowa when a tree fell on them as they were riding on a trail.

Forget the Tour de France. America’s only Penny Farthing bike race rolled for the 11th time over the weekend, with 50 competitors from the US and around the world competing on “wheels are bigger than most 5th graders.”

 

International

A Vancouver Grand Fondo resulted in yet another mass casualty event, as one person was killed and two others injured when a driver somehow plowed into a group of bicyclists.

Police in an Ontario city put bicyclists on a stationary bicycle so they could get a feel for what it’s like to be passed by a driver at the legally mandated one-meter distance (approximately three feet); most felt shaken after the experience, with several wanting the mandatory passing distance increased to two meters. Although it would have done a lot more good to put motorists on that stationary bike, so they would understand just how it feels.

That’s more like it. A drunk and stoned British driver was sentenced to nine years and three months behind bars for killing a 70-year old woman as she walked her bike across the street; his license was already suspended at the time of the crash for a previous DUI, among other offenses.

Cargo bikes dominated the recent Eurobike show, resulting in plans for a separate cargo bike-only show.

Irascible TV celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey completed his first triathlon in over a year in Luxembourg on Sunday, after he was seriously injured crashing his bicycle in June of last year.

The Malay­sian Natio­nal Cycling Federation calls out the lack of sharing on the country’s roads, where bicyclists have the right to ride but “tolerance between cyclists and motor vehicle drivers is declining.”

Bicycling rates are up in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, New Zealand, rising 40% since 2017. But like most American cities, there’s room for even more growth by tapping demand from people who don’t own bikes, or lack confidence to ride them.

 

Competitive Cycling

European road champ Tim Merlier sprinted to victory in Sunday’s ninth stage of the Tour de France to secure his second win of this year’s Tour, after the peloton reeled in Mathieu van der Poel following a day-long breakaway; van der Poel dropped to sixth in the GC standings despite Sunday’s long solo ride, while race leader Tadej Pogačar held onto the yellow jersey.

Pogačar’s chances of wearing yellow in Paris took a hit on Sunday, however, as key domestique João Almeida was forced to abandon, two days after breaking his ribs in a fall.

Tensions are starting to build in the Tour peloton, with Pogačar objecting to feed zone tactics from the Visma-Lease a Bike team that seemed intended to force him to defend the yellow jersey before he wanted; Pogačar was also caught on camera pushing Visma’s Matteo Jorgenson when Jorgenson got in his way, preventing both from getting their bidons.

Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini repeated as Giro champion after winning last year, securing a slim 18-second margin of victory on the final day, as Germany’s Liane Lippert won the stage in late breakaway.

Australian Sarah Gigante was thrilled just to make the Giro podium after a long and challenging comeback from iliac artery endofibrosis surgery.

Baja California’s Isaac del Toro proved he’s too legit to quit, showing his second-place finish at the Giro was no fluke by winning the 75th Tour of Austria.

 

Finally…

How to stop worrying and love the bicycle. How to play AirTag with a bike thief.

And that feeling when bike riders get buzzed by a cop traveling at twice the speed limit, yet commenters blame the people on the bikes, anyway.

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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: , , , , , , , , ,

Passive aggressive Paris bikelash screed, cops blame San Diego ebike victim, and four years for Magnus White killer

June 16, 2025 / / No comments
Day 167 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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No bias here.

London’s Sunday Times has apparently dropped its paywall once again so more people can read a passive aggressive post on the reputed Parisian bikelash.

Where, by their telling, people on bicycles in Paris are entitled hipsters who endanger old people, while the humble bicycle itself is seen as “a symbol of aggression, every-man-for-himself and urban chaos.”

Of course it is.

And of course, it’s all part of the proverbial war on cars.

But it is the behaviour of the cyclists themselves and their apparent disdain for the code de la route that appears to be provoking many Parisians.

Many drivers, already resentful at losing precious road space to dedicated cycle lanes, dismiss those on two wheels as bobos, a catch-all term for privileged hipsters. Matters have been worsened by the proliferation of delivery riders, usually under time pressure and often astride heavy electric machines that can go at 30 mph or more.

Never mind that the European Union limits ebikes to just 15.5 mph.

Then there’s this.

Nine out of ten cyclists (88 per cent) admitted to having broken traffic rules in a survey in Paris and nine other French cities last October. Some 75 per cent confessed to riding on pavements, 55 per cent to turning without signalling and the same number to running red lights.

Young riders appeared the most reckless: three quarters said they did not wear helmets or reflective clothing, and a quarter admitted pedalling without lights.

Because as everyone knows, French drivers are the most courteous, respectful and law-abiding motorists on the Continent.

Right?

But at least they get this part right.

But is an unequal battle: cars and other motor vehicles were responsible for the overwhelming majority of the 451 pedestrians and 222 cyclists killed in France last year, according to provisional official figures from the French Road Safety Observatory.

By contrast, three pedestrians were killed by bicycles and six by electric scooters. Though tiny in comparison, this was higher than in previous years.

Although maybe the fact that bicycle and e-scooter ridership has boomed in Paris since the mayor began reconstructing the streets to build a bike and pedestrian friendly 15-minute city.

So an increase in injuries and fatalities is to be expected — especially when electric motorbikes continue to be misidentified as bicycles.

But maybe, with traditional British disdain for their Gallic neighbors, the problem isn’t the bicycles.

It’s that the riders on them are, yes, French.

Perhaps, though, it is not the town planning that is the main problem.

Chantal from Nancy said that the cyclists were just as bad in her home city. “They’re all French,” she said. “The French mentality is that even if something is banned, you still do it and it doesn’t matter.”

Then again, it always helps when you get find someone from France to complain about the French.

Kind of like a self-identified cyclist complaining about bicyclists.

Photo from Pexels. 

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San Diego police were quick to blame the victim after a 54-year old woman suffered serious injuries in a collision while riding an ebike early Saturday afternoon.

Investigators said she left a bike lane too soon while on northbound on Fairmount Ave, where it merges with Montezuma Road, and hit the side mirror of a car in the next lane.

Although another way to look at it is the driver was likely passing closer than the three-foot distance required to pass a bike rider under California law, or they probably wouldn’t have made contact.

Chances are, blame could also be placed on a poorly designed roadway that required her to leave the bike lane in the first place.

Maybe someone from San Diego could tell us more. But at first glance, this one doesn’t seem to pass the smell test.

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There’s justice, finally, for Magnus White.

The 24-year old Ukrainian immigrant who killed the 17-year old rising US Cycling Team member on a Colorado roadway after drinking and staying up all night was sentenced to four years in state prison, after she was convicted of felony vehicular homicide – reckless driving.

Yeva Smilianska will be required to spend at least three years of that sentence behind bars.

She could have been sentenced to anywhere from two to six years — or could have walked with probation.

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There’s a new bike path steering bicyclists around the tennis courts at Griffith Park.

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Who needs a tour bus when you’ve got a bicycle?

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

Embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams panders to Brooklyn voters by vowing to remove three blocks of a protected bike lane after local residents raised safety concerns. Although he may find there are more bike lane supporters than critics in the city.

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Local 

Today is the last day to submit comments on the Draft PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study to improve safety on SoCal’s killer highway.

 

State

A writer for the San Francisco Standard reports on what it was like to be a 44-year old, chubby trans woman taking part in the final AIDS/LifeCycle ride, although organizers announced they will hold two three-day rides next year.

 

National

People For Bikes says the 16-year old federal Bicycle Commuter Benefit is on the chopping block, as House Republicans voted to eliminate the meagre $20 a month tax rebate meant to encourage bike commuting.

Five Colorado bicyclists were injured, and three hospitalized, when they crashed while riding in a group of 12 riders outside of Sterling in the northeastern part of the state on Saturday; the good news is there was no car or driver involved.

 

International

Momentum writes in praise of spandex-free slow bicycling.

Tom’s Guide explains six essential checks to get your bike ready for the summer. They pretty much get it right, although most of us here in SoCal probably started months ago — if we ever stopped.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura shared photos of his visit to Havana, playing basketball with local kids and riding in one of Cuba’s bicitaxis, aka pedicabs.

A CBC reporter explains that Toronto’s bikeshare system has become a victim of its own success, and is looking to New York’s Citi Bike for solutions to meet its high demand.

People in Montreal and Quebec City are being discouraged from riding their bicycles by garbage bins, semis, cars and other obstacles on bike paths. In other words, kind of like pretty much everywhere else. 

Britain’s Aston Martin teamed with titanium hand-built bikemaker J.Laverackit to create “the most bespoke, advanced and meticulously engineered road bicycle ever made,” employing state-of-the-art design processes and manufacturing techniques more commonly found on Formula 1 cars.

Smithsonian examines how Sweden’s 60-year old Vätternrundan became the biggest recreational ride on the planet, offering 196 miles around the country’s Lake Vättern.

A writer for Travel + Leisure recommends a luxury bicycle tour as the best way to see Romania’s medieval villages, castles and vineyards, as well as the ghosts of its communist past.

That’s more like it. After a Singaporean man was killed in a collision after falling off his bicycle, Malaysian officials took responsibility for the poor condition of the roadway, blaming “crocodile cracking” caused by heavy vehicles, and ordered immediate road repairs.

 

Competitive Cycling

No surprise here. Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar dominated the Critérium du Dauphiné, winning nine of the 21 stages — including the Queen stage — even as rival Jonas Vingegaard put up a fight.

Ouch. Legendary cyclist Eddy Merckx chats with his old rival Roger De Vlaeminck, as the two men trash the current generation of riders, arguing that they don’t race often enough or hard enough, and get dropped too easily.

A 50-year old Iowa math teacher is tacking the 2,745-mile, Canada to Mexico Tour Divide for the second time.

French cyclist Romain Bardet called it a career after 14 years, including two podium finishes in the Tour de France, as the pro peloton showed its respect.

https://twitter.com/picnicpostnl/status/1934303154063171852

 

Finally…

If you’re going to preach the gospel, it might as well be from a bicycle on a cross-country ride. Who needs a touring bike to ride across the country when you’ve got a BMX?

And when life gives you an attempted murder charge, just go for a bike ride.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

50-year old man killed in apparent mountain biking fall in San Diego’s Mission Trails Regional Park

May 20, 2025 / / No comments

Tragic news from San Diego, where a 50-year old man died after apparently falling on a mountain bike trail in Mission Trails Regional Park.

According to San Diego’s 10 News, the victim, who hasn’t been publicly named, was discovered by a married couple lying badly injured near the Mission Trails Rim Trailhead around 6:32 pm Monday.

He was bleeding from the nose and mouth when the woman, identified as Claire Viriyavong, moved his hand to perform CPR.

But despite their efforts, and the efforts of first responders, he was declared dead before being moved from the trail.

He was found near a rock, and an SDFD battalion chief said he appeared to have landed face down, suffered traumatic injuries despite wearing a helmet and other protective gear.

Which is yet another sad reminder that nothing offers complete protection.

This is at least the 15th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

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

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

Ebike rider killed by heartless hit-and-run driver in San Diego’s Claremont Mesa East neighborhood early Saturday

March 29, 2025 / / 2 comments

Once again, someone on a bicycle has been killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver.

This time in San Diego.

According to multiple, nearly identical stories, a 36-year old man was riding an ebike on the 6900 block of Balboa Ave, in the city’s Claremont Mesa East neighborhood, when he was struck by a driver around 1:30 am.

Police report the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding in the westbound bike lane when he veered left for some unknown reason and was hit by the westbound motorist, who continued without stopping.

He died shortly after being taken to a local hospital.

Video from the scene shows damaged car parts and a Lectric ped-assist bicycle lying in the center of the three through traffic lanes.

The suspect vehicle is described as light-colored 2016-2022 Mercedes Benz E-Class sedan, possibly gray, with likely front-end damage including missing grill and other front-end body parts.

It’s not clear if there was a witness to the crash, or if investigators pieced events together from evidence found following the crash.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Traffic Division of the San Diego Police Department at 858/495-7800, or Crime Stoppers at 888/580-8477. 

This was at least the 11th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

This is also the fourth SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year.

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

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

34-year old Las Vegas man riding ebike dies days after Oceanside hit-and-run; driver left him for passerby to find

March 24, 2025 / / 3 comments

A Las Vegas man has died, three days after a hit-and-run driver left him alone and bleeding on the side of the road.

According to the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office, a passerby found 34-year old Jonathan Joseph Akahito Lupola lying near his ebike on the 3100 block of Oceanside Blvd in Oceanside, on Saturday, March 15th, suffering from multiple major injuries.

Despite the efforts of first responders and medical personnel, Lupola’s condition continued to decline, and he was disconnected from life support on Tuesday, March 18th, with his wife at his side, and his organs donated.

There’s no description of the suspect vehicle at this time; a crowdfunding page put up by Lupola’s aunt says the driver was doing an estimated 65 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Although you’d think a crash at that speed would have left debris that could identify the vehicle, unless the driver stopped to pick it up.

The crowdfunding campaign has raised a little over $1,400 of the modest $2,000 goal to transport his body and pay funeral expenses. Lupito’s aunt is also donating proceeds from her food truck in Hawaii.

Note: A comment below from a man identifying himself as Lupito’s uncle says the crowdfunding campaign was not authorized by his family. So maybe hold off donating until I learn more. 

This was at least the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

Lupito was also the third SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jonathan Joseph Akahito Lupola and his loved ones.

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

$2000 e-cargo bike voucher for San Gabriel Valley residents, and San Diego man seriously injured in hit-and-run

March 10, 2025 / / Comments Off on $2000 e-cargo bike voucher for San Gabriel Valley residents, and San Diego man seriously injured in hit-and-run
Day 69 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Forget California’s semi-moribund, scandal-plagued ebike rebate program.

At least if you live in the San Gabriel Valley, anyway, where you can apply now for a $2,000 voucher to buy an e-cargo bike.

But hurry, because applications have already been received for half of the 300 available vouchers.

Photo by Kaboompics.com from Pexels. 

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Police in San Diego are looking for the asshole hit-and-run driver left a man riding a bicycle lying in the street with serious injuries.

The 46-year old victim was hospitalized with spine, collarbone and rib fractures following the Friday night crash in the city’s Clairemont Mesa West neighborhood.

Police are looking for a red 2015 to 2017 Volkswagen Jetta, with damage to the front bumper. Anyone with information is urged to call Traffic Division of the San Diego Police Department at 858/495- 7823 or call CrimeStoppers anonymously at 888/580-8477; there’s $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

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This is who we share the road with.

A disgruntled customer drove his cars into a Carmax showroom in Inglewood, injuring at least eight people.

Thanks to Erik Griswold 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.

Seriously? Santa Clarita residents lit up the phones at the sheriff’s station to report “a caravan” of juveniles riding a mix of bicycles, ebikes and dirt bikes, despite a complete lack of reports indicating the kids were doing anything wrong.

An Italian pro cyclist suffered a dislocated shoulder and broken ribs in a pair of back-to-back attacks when he was threatened, pushed off his bike, punched in face and hit with rock in what appeared to be completely unprovoked assaults by motorbike riders, as he finished a training ride with his brother.

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Local  

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton digs into the numbers, and finds that highway widening conducted by Metro and Caltrans in Los Angeles County were responsible for 96% of California’s home demolitions for freeway expansions in recent years.

 

State

Irvine’s second annual CicloIrvine open streets event will roll on May 3rd.

A San Diego nonprofit is encouraging homeless people to ride a bike, and will give them a refurbished bicycle, along with a helmet, lock, lights, saddlebag and some maintenance items after they’ve completed 100 miles on a bike; 76 people have completed the program to earn one in the last five years.

In a Santa Barbara op-ed, a man makes the case for changing the city’s ordinance prohibiting sidewalk riding, arguing that bike riders shouldn’t have to contend with high-speed traffic on the streets. Bicyclists should have the option, even though studies have shown the apparent safety of sidewalks in an illusion, as reduced sight lines actually increase the danger for people riding on the sidewalk.

The question isn’t why Cupertino’s city council voted to approve new protected bike lanes on one of the city’s most dangerous corridors, but why two of the five council members voted against it.

A want to be like him when I grow up. A Turlock paper remember a former octogenarian fitness role model, who didn’t let diabetes and neuropathy interfere with his love of bicycling; Ray Houlihan was 93 when he died following a brief illness.

 

National

Escape Collective drops their usual paywall to discuss why most bikemakers are hiding a key indicator of how their bikes handle.

In a story only for their subscribers, Bicycling makes the case that high-end bicycling gear probably isn’t worth the cost. So much for their high-end ad accounts. 

Seattle could be on the road to Vision Zero, as preliminary data shows the city cut pedestrian deaths in half last year — and had no bicycling deaths. Which shows what can happen when city leaders actually give a damn and do something. 

Speaking of Seattle, the city opened a new two-mile bike path along the waterfront as part of an $805 million project to revamp the Puget Sound shoreline, starting with removal of a highway that used to block access to the coast.

Life is cheap in Colorado, where a teacher got one lousy year behind bars for killing a ten-year old boy riding a bicycle while driving distracted, just minutes from my bike-friendly hometown; the boy’s parents are fighting for tougher penalties for killer drivers. And if you ever wonder why people keep dying on our streets, this is a good place to start.

A man in San Antonio, Texas was sentenced to 50 years behind bars for whacking a man with a beer bottle to steal his bicycle, leaving the victim blind. Which is 12.5 times more than you’d get for killing someone with a car in California. 

Boston Magazine explores the fallout from the Boston bikelash, as surprisingly fierce opposition has risen to the city’s new bike lanes, with one pizza shop owner asking who would ever take a pizza home on a bicycle. Funny he should ask.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has told DC Mayor Muriel Bowser that the city’s street murals are dangerous, and gave them 30 days to identify “roadway noncompliance” and develop a plan to deal with them — even though they’ve caused zero crashes, and studies show street art makes roads safer. A Republican lawmaker also threatened the city’s transportation funding if they didn’t paint over a “Black Lives Matter” mural.

 

International

Bike Radar ranks the best British islands to add to your bike bucket list.

A pro mountain biker, bike journalist and a mountain bike coach discuss gender equality in mountain biking for International Women’s Day.

Life is cheap in Canada, where a dump truck driver got a lousy $1,000 fine for killing a woman riding a bicycle in a right hook.

Life is almost as cheap in the UK, where a woman will spend a lousy one-year behind bars for killing a 57-year old father as he was riding a bicycle, while she was texting and reading Facebook behind the wheel, in what prosecutors termed a “prolonged episode of bad driving.”

After 484 days in Hamas captivity, an Israeli ex-hostage says riding his bike feels like freedom. Which is probably something we all can relate to.

 

Competitive Cycling

Three-time Tours de France, Giro and World’s champ Tadej Pogačar showed he’s human by crashing at Strade Bianchi, saying he “actually showed I’m pretty shit” — then made the case for why he’s not by coming back to win, turning his previous seven one-day Monuments to eight.

Britain’s Tom Pidcock said it was bittersweet finishing second to Pogačar, after waiting for Pog to recover from his crash, then being unable to hold his wheel at the finish.

The eight-stage Paris-Nice got off to a tense start, with Belgium’s Tim Merlier taking the first stage in an all-out sprint; meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard started the race with his very own personalized helmet.

An 18-year old Aussie man won a spot on the Canyon–SRAM zondacrypto development team by taking first place in the Zwift Academy’s virtual competition, calling the opportunity “life-changing.”

Despite a well-earned reputation for bullying people when he was competing, America’s only seven-time ex-Tour de France has been there for British eight-time Olympic medalist Bradley Wiggins since he retired nearly a decade ago, helping him recover from a drug problem and deep debt.

 

Finally….

Fixing a bike for the toddler WorldTour development squad. And we may have to deal with LA’s feral drivers, but at least we don’t have to ride between wild bobcats.

@lookitsblackdynamite

#bobcat #lynx #fyp #animals #nature #foryou #cat #explore #trending #viral

♬ Love You So – The King Khan & BBQ Show

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Update: Man riding bicycle killed by driver in San Diego’s Black Mountain Ranch; eighth SoCal bike death this month

November 23, 2024 / / One comment

This month just continues to go from bad to worse.

Multiple sources are reporting that a man was killed when he was apparently struck from behind by a driver as he was riding his bike in San Diego’s Black Mountain Ranch.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding in the bike lane on Camino Del Sur at Casey Glen around 6:50 pm Saturday, when a 50-year old woman headed west on Camino Del Sur drove into the bike lane shortly after crossing Casey Glen.

He died at the scene.

Police say alcohol was not a factor in the crash. However, there’s no word on why the driver went into the bike lane, whether she was distracted, or how fast she was going at the time of the crash.

Anyone with information is urged to call the San Diego Police Department at 858/495-7800, or cal Crime Stoppers at 888/580-8477.

This is at least the 53rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th that I’m aware of in San Diego County; it’s also the eighth in just the last 18 days.

The victim has been identified as 60-year old San Diego resident James Osmus.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for James Osmus and all his loved ones. 

Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up. 

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

San Diego traffic deaths climb 10 years after Vision Zero, rigid bollards pose risk to bikes, and who we share the road with

November 13, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 47 days until LA fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

Meanwhile, San Diego’s Vision Zero program is working about as well as most, including here in Los Angeles, as a new report says pedestrian and bicycling deaths have continued to climb in the ten years since the program was adopted.

The difference is that San Diego actually took major steps to improve safety, building new bike lanes and pedestrian improvements throughout the city. Although it’s arguably — and demonstrably — not enough.

But whether cities can ever do enough to compensate for bigger, faster vehicles and drivers distracted by smartphones and dashboard video screens is highly debatable.

………

A new German study confirmed the complaints of some San Diego bicyclists who’ve argued that rigid bike lane bollards pose a high risk for bicyclists, and can result in serious injuries to riders who hit them.

The authors conducted an experiment to test the risks to riders.

To assess the risk posed to cyclists by rigid bollards, DEKRA conducted two identical collision tests at its Crash Test Center in Neumünster, Germany, with a three-wheeled e-cargo bike driven at a speed of 25 km/h (about 15-16 mph), one against a flexible post and the other against a rigid one.

“In the test against the rigid post, there was a strong deceleration [slowing down] that threw the dummy from the saddle towards the handlebars. The bollard buckled and then acted as a ramp. The rear of the bike was lifted up, throwing the dummy off and causing the bike to tip over.”

“In a real-life situation, the person riding the bike would have suffered serious injuries,” Egelhaaf said.

On the other hand, flexible plastic bollards — like the car-tickler bendie posts preferred by LADOT — allowed riders to simply roll over them, with little or no risk of serious injuries.

But flexible bollards also do nothing to keep inattentive or uncaring drivers out of the bike lanes, and are often flattened within weeks, if not days, of their installation.

So the question becomes whether the risk of falls outweighs the risk posed by motorists and their big, dangerous machines.

I don’t know how to answer that.

The only way to get a actual answer would be to try a real world test on comparable roadways, and measure the rate of injuries on both after six months and a year.

And to the best of my knowledge, no one has done that. Or plans to.

………

This is who we share the road with.

A Santa Monica collision resulted in unexpected tragedy after a pickup driver collided with a motorcyclist on the 1400 block of Cloverfield Blvd, near the Specialized bike shop at Cloverfield and Santa Monica.

The motorcyclist only suffered minor injuries. But as he walked back to the truck to talk with the driver, he heard a shot ring out as the driver pulled out a gun and committed suicide, for reasons known only to himself.

………

This is who we share the road with, part two

A cop found a Lubbock, Texas man dead from complications of diabetes, which apparently resulted from injuries he suffered in an earlier road rage crash.

Witnesses said a driver seemed to intentionally crash into the victim’s motorcycle, after the motorbike rider waved a gun as the two men argued moments before the crash.

The driver claimed he accidentally hit the motorcycle while attempting to flee from the gunman — then he did flee immediately after the crash, turning a road rage incident into a fatal hit-and-run.

Or maybe even a homicide.

………

No bias here.

A panel of sadly misinformed Aussie broadcasters called for banning all bicyclists from the roads, especially the ones who “wear Lycra and have large guts,” while calling a three-wheeled recumbent bike a child’s toy tricycle.

All because video showed a driver correctly slow down behind the recumbent rider to wait for a safe opportunity to pass, before a truck driver slammed on his brakes to avoid running up the driver’s ass, and nearly hit an oncoming car headed in the other direction.

And somehow, they managed to conclude this was all the bike rider’s fault.

………

Drivers often act like we’re invisible.

Sometimes, it may actually be true.

………

Maybe Santa will bring me the new Tern do-it-all e-cargo bike for Christmas.

It could happen, right?

………

It’s now 329 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 41 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

No bias here, either. A Boston bike commuter says the city’s new bike lanes are a metaphor for the Democratic Party, since they were built to appease a “small, highly vocal minority,” a “depressing number” of whom consider the resulting traffic congestion a benefit, not a trade-off. Tell us you don’t understand traffic calming without saying it. 

If you’re going to hate on bicycles, might as well do it poetically, as a British letter writer pens an ode to the local city council’s “absurd” and “crazy” “cycle crusade.”

Now we’re being attacked by elderly Florida dog walkers and British people on e-scooters.

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

A Long Beach bike rider learned the hard way that when you’re carrying a bag of meth on your bike, don’t ride salmon. And don’t lie to the cops about having a gun, for chrissakes. 

Police in Brighton, England are investigating after a teenaged ebike rider crashed into a 75-year old woman, who had to be hospitalized.

………

Local  

Lucky us. Even more bicyclists get to participate in Waymo’s beta test, willingly or not, as the autonomous cab company expands into more Los Angeles neighborhoods, and opens up to all users.

WorldTour cyclist Neilson Powless and US crit champ Coryn Labecki led a 25-mile bike ride through the streets of Pasadena, before returning to a new private school to help the students build bicycles for underprivileged youth.

They get it. A Pasadena study session will consider how to revitalize North Lake Ave and turn it into a Complete Street to make it more inviting to bike riders and pedestrians, as it currently “suffers from excessive space allocated to cars.”

Manhattan Beach students will now be required to display a sticker saying they’ve taken an approved ebike safety course if they want to park them on campus.

Streetsblog hosts an open thread on Saturday’s relatively sparsely attended Beach Streets open streets event in North Long Beach, including Joe Linton’s always great photos.

 

State

Costa Mesa will host Micromobility America, a trade show for ebike and e-scooter makers, and others in the micromobility industry, this Thursday and Friday.

The Guardian examines the backlash to the closing of San Francisco’s Great Highway, as if it hadn’t just been approved by a majority of the city’s voters.

Sad news from Sacramento, where a 32-year old woman was killed when she was stuck by a driver while trying to ride across the street; naturally, the CHP blamed the victim for riding directly into the car’s path, without mentioning whether the driver may have been speeding or gone through a traffic signal.

 

National

Momentum writes in praise of community bike co-ops.

Bicycling considers how to say goodbye to the rider you used to be. A lesson I’ve struggled to learn myself. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else, so you’re on your own if the magazine blocks you.

National Geographic — yes, it’s still a thing — picks the best ebikes to “make cycling adventures a breeze,” while the National Council on Aging selects the best ebikes for old farts older Americans.

Bike Portland says last week’s election bodes well for bicycling in the city.

Colorado county commissioners nixed a hotly debated proposal for a mountain bike park, although the decision left developers demoralized.

NBA star Klay Thompson is one of us, riding his bike to relax between games after signing with the Dallas Mavericks.

A YouTuber rides the rough streets of Dallas to confirm whether it’s really the country’s most unbikeable city.

That’s more like it. An Illinois driver faces up to 61 years in prison for the drugged-driving crash that killed a man riding a bicycle, after he was convicted on four counts of aggravated DUI causing death and one count of reckless homicide.

A Vermont police officer was placed on administrative leave after killing a 38-year old man who was pulling a bike trailer behind his bicycle; officials unofficially exonerated the driver of the police cruiser by insisting it was rainy and dark, and the street was wet. Which is usually what happens when it rains.

Kindhearted McDonalds coworkers bought a new bicycle for a Cambridge, Massachusetts man after his bike was stolen.

New York completed the final phase of a Vision Zero makeover of the city’s former “Boulevard of Death,” which has already resulted in a dramatic reduction in deaths and serious injuries for all road users, while increasing bike use up to 450%.

Prosecutors in New Jersey are headed to the grand jury to seek a formal indictment of 43-year old Sean Higgins, accused in the drunken, high-speed crash that killed the hockey playing Gaudreau brothers as they rode their bikes on the shoulder of a New Jersey highway the night before their sister’s wedding.

Once again, someone riding a bicycle fell off a Florida drawbridge, when a 72-year old man fell after holding on for dear life after the bridge opened as he was riding across; fortunately, the victim’s injuries weren’t life threatening.

 

International

Canadian Cycling Magazine looks at city bicycling rules that need to be changed.

The BBC takes a look at bike riders who are taking things into their own hands, and tracking down their own stolen bicycles when the cops won’t. Speaking of which, Amazon has Air Tags on sale for just $19, or $70 for four. 

Life is cheap in Wales, where an 84-year old driver walked without a single day behind bars for killing a bike rider after claiming he just couldn’t see the victim, he was apparently spared jail time by virtue of being old. And once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive, if you can’t even see a grown man on a bicycle. 

An English police department is employing “scarecrow” bikes to frighten off bike thieves.

A British doctor suggests wearing a hot and slightly cumbersome face mask that may take some getting used to when you ride a bike on city streets.

Add riding a bike through the streets of Istanbul to your bicycle bucket list. Singing “Istanbul (not Constantinople)” while you ride is optional.

An American experiences “dirt, sweat and philosophical enlightenment” while gravel biking across Morocco.

Streetsblog considers what the US can learn from Africa’s bike mayor, asking what we can “learn from developing countries where car dependency hasn’t yet taken root.”

The New York Times looks at the thinking behind the massive five-hour bike ride that brought tens of thousands of Chinese people out on a search for dumplings, which became so popular the government shut it down. Cycling Weekly says with enough belief, we could all have our own viral Chinese dumpling ride.

Cycling Up To Date examines the ten biggest scandals in cycling history, culminating with our old doper buddy Lance.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist looks back to Connie Carpenter’s — now Connie Carpenter-Phinney — win in the first women’s Olympic road cycling race at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, 40 years before the next American woman would take gold at this year’s Paris Olympics.

 

Finally…

Now you can crash your bike without ever leaving your living room. Even ungulates are breaking into bike shops these days.

And you really can carry a sofa on a bicycle. Or what looks like a love seat, anyway.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

A $7 million SD safety fail, U-T sharrows fail, and taking a pass on what passes for record CA traffic safety investment

October 3, 2024 / / Comments Off on A $7 million SD safety fail, U-T sharrows fail, and taking a pass on what passes for record CA traffic safety investment
Just 88 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

L’Shana Tova to everyone celebrating the new year today!

And apropos of nothing, I’m happy to report I wrote today’s entire post wearing a T-shirt with a bear riding a bicycle, as bears are wont to do. 

Just saying.

………

Call it a $7 million fail — one that ultimately cost the life of a San Diego bike rider.

That’s the amount the city paid out to the family of Marc Woolf, who died 17 months after he was struck by a pair of drivers and paralyzed from the next down, dying of sepsis 17 months later.

Woolf was on his way home from his job at the San Diego zoo in May, 2021 when a driver coming out of a blind driveway backed into him, knocking him onto the other side of the street, where he was hit again by second driver.

But instead of blaming the drivers, Woolf’s legal team accused the city of creating and maintaining poor road conditions.

According to San Diego CBS8, those conditions included —

  • Restricted site lines and distances caused by physical conditions
  • Insufficient red curb prohibiting parked cars
  • Overgrown vegetation
  • Confusing and misleading shared lane striping
  • An improperly maintained light fixture which was not functioning on the night of the incident

The station reports the city finally extended the red curb to improve sightlines along the corridor in response to the crash.

As usual, only acting after it was too late.

Now Wolff’s family is $7 million richer, and the city’s taxpayers are $7 million poorer.

But as his daughter notes, no amount of money can bring Wolff back, or ease the pain the new grandfather suffered for so many months.

Meanwhile, the Union-Tribune blamed sharrows in general for the crash.

The case highlights the potential dangers of “sharrows,” marked bike routes that require cars and bicycles to share portions of roadway instead of giving cyclists areas reserved only for them.

I’m no fan of sharrows, which studies have shown to be worse than nothing when it comes to protecting the safety of bike riders.

But that’s a discussion for another day.

The paper was clearly mistaken, at best, in blaming any and all sharrows for this particular crash, rather than the poorly designed and implemented sharrows on this one particular street.

I’ve heard that some San Diego bicyclists have called on the paper for a retraction.

And they may have a point this time.

………

California is making a record investment in traffic safety and enforcement as traffic deaths continue to rise, according to the Governor’s office.

The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) is awarding a record $149 million in federal funding for 497 grants that expand safe biking and walking options and provide critical education and enforcement programs that will make roads safer throughout the state. This is the third consecutive year of historic funding, exceeding last year’s amount by $21 million.

Yet that record spending to “expand safe biking and walking options” includes just $13 million for bicycle and pedestrian safety programs, up a modest 12% from the previous grant cycle.

Even though bicyclists and pedestrians account for most, if not all, of the recent increase in traffic deaths.

Meanwhile, a whopping $51 million will go to law enforcement agencies to conduct what’s described as “equitable enforcement targeting the most dangerous driving behaviors such as speeding, distracted and impaired driving, as well as support education programs focused on bicycle and pedestrian safety.”

In other words, more daylong — or usually, just a few hours — enforcement actions targeting violations that could put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk, regardless of who commits them.

Which, to the best of my knowledge, hasn’t been proven to do a damn bit of good reducing deaths or serious injuries among either group.

So if that’s what passes for a record investment, I’ll pass.

………

Streets For All politely reminds Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass that Measure HLA applies to Metro projects in the City of Los Angeles, too.

Never mind that the city’s barely competent and very conservative City Attorney’s Office continues to drag its feet on crafting guidance for city departments regarding the measure, nearly seven months after it went into effect after passing overwhelmingly.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports that new bike lane mileage in Los Angeles fell to a five-year low for the most recent fiscal year, adding up to a massively underwhelming 22.5 lane-miles of new and improved bike facilities.

And remember, lane-miles means they count each side of the road separately, so we’re only talking a measly 11.25 miles of actual street.

Then there’s this.

While there is some year-to-year variation, and some lag time between project planning getting underway and on the ground upgrades, the first full fiscal year does not look like a promising start for Mayor Karen Bass. Bass has prioritized critical housing issues and not paid much attention to safer multimodal streets – at least not yet. FY2024 did see Mayor Karen Bass appoint Laura Rubio-Cornejo to head the city Transportation Department (LADOT). Rubio-Cornejo replaced interim GM Connie Llanos last September.

No shit.

If anyone has heard Bass even mention safer and/or multimodal streets, let me know. Because I sure as hell haven’t heard it.

Then again, the city’s freeze on resurfacing projects to avoid implementing HLA hasn’t helped.

And neither has Bass’ continued failure to meet with us.

………

Momentum wants to see your pics of bike lane fails, of which we should have more than a few.

https://twitter.com/MomentumMag/status/1841505396596342989

………

Presenting the cutest BMX balance bike stunt video you’ll see all day.

………

It’s now 288 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And an even 40 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, apparently tired of waiting, San Francisco will consider a proposal for their own yet-to-be defined ebike rebate program.

That deafening silence you hear is Los Angeles not considering one.

………

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

Apparently, elected office provides no protection from dangerous drivers, as an Ottawa, Canada city counselor captures a way-too-close punishment pass on his bike cam while riding past several parked cars.

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

Maybe something was lost in translation, as an Ottawa letter writer complains about the incivility of local bicyclists who “love listening to the music of the folk group With No Headphones,” while riding their bikes without a “ten dollar doorbell.”

………

Local  

Looks like they slipped one past us this time, as a planned two-day closure last week for repairs on the Ballona Creek Bike Path only took one day, with the path reopening before some of us (i.e. me) knew it wasn’t.

Start times for the Long Beach Marathon have been moved up due to a high heat warning, with the bike tour now scheduled to start the same time as the runners at 5:30 am.

Speaking of Streets For All, the Los Angeles-area transportation PAC is hosting a fundraiser in Franklin Hills this Sunday afternoon.

 

State

The CHP has received a $1.55 million federal grant for year-long initiative focusing on “educating the public and enforcing traffic safety laws for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.” Maybe they could spend some of the money on educating their patrol officers a little better on bike law and how to investigate collisions involving bicyclists. 

San Diego was dubbed the greenest city in the US for the third year in a row; needless to say, Los Angeles wasn’t, coming in 18th.

San Diego pediatrician Dr. Mike Nelson dropped by a Claremont Mesa fire station to thank the first responders who saved his life when he crashed his bicycle on the way to an appointment a couple months back.

A San Francisco neighborhood is tearing itself apart fighting over a proposal to permanently close a highway to motor vehicles, even though it’s eroding into the ocean anyway.

 

National

Momentum offers ten “amazing coastal cities” in the US for bicycling; Santa Barbara is #9 on the list, while Huntington Beach is #2 — even though three people lost their lives riding in the city in just the last 12 months.

Bicyclists in the Pacific Northwest are challenging online marketplaces like OfferUp to do more to fight the reselling of stolen bikes on their platforms.

An editorial from a local Boston paper says bicycling isn’t safe in the city. Then again, the same could be said in virtually any city in the US. Los Angeles included. 

A proposed Pennsylvania law could authorize parking-protected bicycle lanes for the first time in the state.

Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport is encouraging travelers to skip the taxi and ride their bikes to the airport. Maybe LAX should be taking notes.

More proof bikes make the best emergency vehicles, as a North Carolina family grabbed their chainsaws and hopped on their bicycles to rescue the family’s 87-year old matriarch when they couldn’t contact her after Hurricane Helene.

 

International

Bike Radar considers why mixed-terrain ultra-distance cycling events are rising in popularity.

Residents of a British Columbia city aren’t sold on plans for a new bike path if it means chopping down a tree.

London bicyclists will soon be shuttled through a new motor vehicle-only tunnel under the Thames on special double-decker buses.

The rich get richer, as London bicyclists will soon get a £4 million — $5.3 million — bike route through the heart of the city.

There won’t be any more changes to the UK’s infamous “optical illusion” bike lane, even though it’s led to more than 100 trip and fall injuries. Sounds like they need better injury attorneys over there. 

 

Competitive Cycling

That’s Sir Mark Cavendish to you, as the Manx Missile gets knighted at Windsor Castle. Unless you’d rather call him the new High Performance Ambassador for Aston Martin.

Cyclinguptodate compares UCI to the Mafia for the way they managed the recent Zurich world championships, arguing that the organization implements rules, then neither complies with or implements them.

Rouleur considers the recent rise of WorldTour mega-contracts.

 

Finally…

Maybe your new wireless shifters can be hack-proof, after all. Now you, too, can trade your ten gallon hat for a helmet and bike through LBJ’s Texas ranch.

And maybe you were a bicycling British soldier in a past life, bad teeth be damned.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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