Tag Archive for Simi Valley

High wind warnings and fire danger return to LA, man dies riding Simi Valley trail, and denouement to bizarre Scottish hit-and-run

January 20, 2025 / / No comments
Day 20 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Well, this ain’t good.

The National Weather Service is calling for a return of Santa Ana winds up to 100 mph starting this afternoon — the same conditions that fueled the deadly wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena exactly two weeks ago.

So beware of dangerous wind gusts that can rise suddenly, keep an eye out for any sign of fire or smoke, and keep your phone handy for any wind or evacuation alerts.

After last time, we’ve all seen what could happen. So if you smell smoke, wear a mask. And if there’s a fire anywhere around you, get the hell out.

Please.

Let’s hope we don’t see the return of orange skies, like this shot from Cole Keister for Pexels.

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Sad news from Simi Valley, where a man believed to be in his 50’s collapsed and died while riding his bike with a companion.

The incident occurred shortly before 1:30 pm Saturday, along Albertson Fire Road in the hills south of Simi, and east of Thousand Oaks.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, despite the efforts of first responders.

This was at least the third bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

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Call it the denouement to a shocking case we’ve been following for several years.

The family of a 63-year old man killed by a drunken hit-and-run driver while on Scottish fundraising ride has received an undisclosed six-figure settlement from the driver’s insurance company.

Tony Parsons died after the driver drove away, leaving him propped against a fence overnight. The driver came back with his brother the next day and buried Parsons in an unmarked grave in the woods, along with his bike and belongings, where his body wasn’t found for another three years.

Alexander “Sandy” McKellar was sentenced to 12 years behind bars, while his twin brother Robert got five years and three months.

They probably would have gotten away with it if Sandy McKeller hadn’t taken his girlfriend to the burial site in 2020, and confessed the whole crime to her.

She promptly reported it to the police. Yet it wasn’t until the next year that the grave was finally discovered and the McKellers arrested.

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This is who we share the road with.

https://twitter.com/motorisms/status/1881011234092503154

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It’s questionable whether most drivers will ever grasp the concept that riding abreast and controlling the lane makes us safer, while making it easier for them. It just requires a little patience.

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

A man attacked a 74-year old man riding a bicycle in East Harlem, New York, first pushing to victim off his bicycle, then picking it up and beating him with it, for no apparent reason.

Police in Spartanburg, South Carolina are on the lookout for two suspects, after the passenger in a car threw a drink cup at a man riding a bicycle; the cops were able to find the cup, so it’s conceivable they may be able to lift prints. That happened to me so often riding in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that I could have opened my own convenience store. Although it must not have been illegal there, because I eventually gave up on trying to get a cop to take a report.

Complaints are flooding in against the BBC for a recent report attacking ebikes, as one bike shop owner says “Finding a wolf in sheep’s clothing should not be a reason to attack sheep.” Which may just be my new favorite expression.

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

A 31-year old Scottish man faces sentencing for intentionally riding his bicycle into his girlfriend, knocking her to the ground. No word on whether the woman was injured. Although if she’s still his girlfriend after that, she may have suffered serious brain damage. 

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Local  

KNBC-4 offers more details on the fire that destroyed Altadena’s Steve’s Bike Shop and most of the city two weeks ago, while owner Steve Salinas was fighting to save his brother’s home.

 

State

A 40-year old Riverside man was killed while riding an electric scooter against traffic when he was hit head-on by a driver turning out of a school parking lot.

Don’t plan on riding a new, fully funded bike lane connecting Downtown San Francisco with Golden Gate Park anytime soon.

An alleged burglar was busted for stealing several bicycles with an estimated value of $28,000 from a San Francisco home; he was arrested after the victim spotted one of the bikes for sale online and notified the police.

Sacramento is urged to consider addressing the city’s climate goals and the high rate of bicyclist and pedestrian deaths by making a new bridge across the American River car-free.

 

National

Bicycling offers the key to a successful Everesting attempt, which research shows comes down to selecting the right gradient for your fitness level. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Bicycling also considers how to recognize the signs of exercise addiction in bike riders. But you may have to find a way around their paywall if the magazine blocks you, since this one doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else.

One last bike-friendly federal bill before the new administration takes over, with the signing of the Biking On Long Distance Trails (BOLT) Act, which will require the feds to build at least 10 long-distance bicycle routes throughout the US, and identify potential routes 10 more using existing roads and trails.

An ebike impact calculator launched last year now includes data from over 500 US cities, allowing users to assess the environmental and economic impact of shifting short vehicle trips to ebikes.

Bicycling deaths continue to climb in ostensibly bike-friendly Portland, Oregon. Probably due to the same problems with distracted drivers and massively oversized vehicles plaguing every other American city. 

A Seattle components maker takes a look back, and discovers that bicycling has come full circle.

Washington state launched a $5 million dollar ebike rebate program, which expects to fund about 7,000 more vouchers than the botched first round of California’s intentionally throttled program.

Cycling West shares photo of an Ogden, Utah bronze statue of a kid riding a bicycle, with a dog running alongside.

A new 9.3-mile multi-use trail for art aficionados in the Berkshires will connect three Massachusetts art museums, as well as a theater, multiple art galleries and other cultural and historic destinations.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. Heartbreaking news from Florida, where a 53-year old man without a license was busted for his third DUI — but not until he ran a stop sign and killed six-year old kid riding a bike. Just one more example of why it’s not enough to suspend the driver’s license after a second DUI. The driver’s car should have been impounded for the full term of his license suspension. 

 

International

British Columbia’s Rocky Mountain Bikes is now under bankruptcy protection, with parent company RAD Industries Inc. in dire financial straits.

Bicyclists in Lahore, Pakistan now have their on lane on some of the city’s busiest roadways, but they’ll have to share them with motorbikes.

Bike counters captured a record number of bike riders in Christchurch, New Zealand last year, as the city topped 4 million bike trips, up from 3.6 million in 2023.

A senior political journalist writes in defense of bike lanes in New Zealand’s capital, both as a bicyclist and a driver.

A pair of Aussie bicyclists were seriously injured, and their bikes significantly damaged, when they were run down from behind by a hit-and-run driver. Raising the obvious question of how anyone fails to see not one, but two grown men on bicycles directly in front of them.

No surprise here. A new Australian study shows that wearing bike helmets or bright, reflective clothing is dehumanizing, with bicyclists in the helmeted, hi-vis camp seen as less human that bike riders in more casual attire.

 

Competitive Cycling

A woman watching the Tour Down Under was hospitalized when several competitors lost control and slammed into the fencing in a “chaotic” crash on a tight corner, at speeds topping 30 mph.

Visma – Lease a Bike, the flagship cycling team of the Netherlands, will go into the year’s Tour de France without any Dutch riders on the team, though it will have American Sepp Kuss.

Sad news, as former American pro Doug Shapiro died following a California climbing accident; the 65-year old New Yorker raced for the legendary 7-Eleven team, as well as the forerunner to Visma-Lease a Bike, while winning the 1984 edition of Colorado’s Coors Classic.

Thirty-year old Ryan Collins now owns 12 ultra-cycling world records, despite being told he’d never ride a bike again after a head-on collision in his early 20s.

Two-time Tour de France camp Jonas Vingegaard calls for an immediate end to carbon monoxide doping, the latest not-yet-illegal fad among the pro racing crowd. Which raises the question of whether LA cyclists would fail a CO test simply for breathing the air around here these days.

The former sports director for Belgian women’s cycling team Proximus-Cyclis, now Team Velopro–Alphamotorhomes, was banned for five years on Friday after being accused of inappropriate psychological and sexual harassment; the team manager was banned for 18 months and fined the equivalent of $5,500 for failing to report it. Is there really such a thing as appropriate psychological and/or sexual harassment?

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can own a $7,500 carbon frame racing bike spec’d entirely of Chinese parts, from a company you probably never heard of. How can you call yourself a real bike rider if you don’t know the difference between a Bicicletta and a Bicycle Thief?

And if you’re planning to snatch a $15,000 racing bike while the owner is having lunch with his friends, maybe make sure they’re not elite cyclists first.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

55-year old Michael Sorensen killed in Simi Valley collision, after allegedly running stop sign on his bike

March 26, 2024 / / 3 comments

A Simi Valley man was killed after running a stop sign on his bicycle.

Allegedly.

According to the Ventura County Star, 55-year old Michael Sorensen was riding south on Quimisa Drive in Simi Valley at 1 pm Tuesday, when he tried to make a left turn onto West Los Angeles Ave, reportedly running the stop sign in the process.

Sorensen was struck by a driver traveling west on Los Angeles. He died at the scene.

The T-shaped intersection doesn’t have a stop sign on Los Angeles, which has a 50 mph speed limit. A bend in the road could have hidden the car from Sorensen’s view until it was too late, especially if the driver was exceeding the speed limit by even a few miles.

The driver remained on scene and cooperated with police, and did not appear to be impaired.

Whether Sorensen actually ran the stop sign depends on whether there were any independent witnesses aside from the driver who may have seen whether he stopped, particularly since the driver’s view of Sorensen could have been obstructed by the bend in the road.

Anyone with information is urged to call Simi Valley Police Officer Bryan Sarfaty at 805/583-6189, or email bsarfaty@simivalley.org.

This is at least the 11th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

However, it’s the second bicycling death in Simi Valley in three months.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Michael Sorensen and all his loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

77-year old Florida driver hits 8 bicyclists head-on, WeHo adopts Vision Zero, and bicyclist injured in Simi Valley hit-and-run

January 5, 2024 / / One comment
If you haven’t already, stop what you’re doing and sign this petition demanding a public meeting with LA Mayor Karen Bass to listen to the dangers we face just walking and biking on the streets of LA.

Then share the petition — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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It’s happened again.

Once again, a driver has plowed into a group of bicyclists, this time in Gulf Stream, Florida, on the state’s Atlantic coast.

According to multiple sources, a 77-year old woman drove onto the wrong side of the road and plowed into a group of eight bicyclists riding in a paceline, sending seven victims to the hospital — including one 46-year old man with injuries that were described as “incapacitating.”

The victims included the driver, as well as six people on bikes; three of whom were described as “severely injured,” though their injuries weren’t considered life-threatening.

Police said all the bike riders were wearing helmets, none of which are designed to protect against a head-on crash at 35 mph.

A woman who was riding with the group said she was lucky to escape with some bruises and a large cut on her leg, along with an injury to her arm from the car’s side mirror.

The collision occurred on the state’s famed A1A coast highway, leaving a crash scene witnesses described as “horrific”.

Descriptions of the dangers bike riders face there make it sound like an East Coast version of Southern California’s killer Pacific Coast Highway.

I understand there’s a bike cam video of the crashing circulating around. But from what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t recommend watching it.

Some things are hard to unsee.

And never mind the ongoing conversation of how old is too old to drive. Although hitting a group of bike riders head-on while driving on the wrong side of the road might suggest might be.

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Good news from West Hollywood, where Senior Planner David Fenn forwards news that the City Council unanimously adopted WeHo’s first Vision Zero plan at their last meeting before Christmas

And they didn’t stop there, asking city staff “to investigate additional safety strategies like identifying promising locations for roundabouts, reducing landscaping height at crosswalks to improve pedestrian visibility and the orientation of pedestrian push buttons to drivers.”

So maybe they’re serious about actually doing something to reduce traffic deaths, unlike a certain megalopolis I could name.

West Hollywood staff members will return to Council with an addendum to the plan which includes these suggestions in the next few months.

You can view a YouTube recording of the meeting, with the Vision Zero discussion from 3:20:49 to 3:46:05.

Fenn also forwards news that WeHo is studying first and last mile connections for pedestrians and bicyclists for the future Metro K (Crenshaw) Line Northern Extension. A survey has been posted online to offer your feedback and suggestions.

My best suggestion is to speed up construction, which isn’t scheduled to begin until 2041, with completion set for 2047 to 2049 — too damn long to wait for a line that will finally connect all of Metro’s existing rail lines.

Especially since Metro never seems to meet their completion dates.

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Someone riding a bicycle suffered major injuries in a Simi Valley hit-and-run yesterday.

According to a notice from the Simi Valley Police Department, the victim, who wasn’t publicly identified, was riding north across Los Angeles Ave west of Stearns Street when they were struck by a vehicle traveling east on Los Angeles around 7:50 pm.

A witness described the suspect vehicle as a late 1990’s to early 2000’s gold Toyota sedan, with probable significant damage to the front or right front side.

I’d say that sounds like my wife’s old car, but it was totaled by a distracted driver just before Christmas.

Anyone with information is urged to call Simi Valley PD Traffic Collision Investigator Martinez at 805/583-6224 or email AMartinez@simivalley.org.

Let’s hope the victim has a fast and full recovery. And they find the heartless coward who did it.

Thanks to Linda Righetti for the heads-up.

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Ralph Durham forwards photos from a recent trip to Milan, featuring a protected bike lane we can only envy.

Photos by Ralph Durham

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I think I found your summer read, due out in June.

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16 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 30 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law, and counting.

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

A 57-year old Belfast, Ireland grandmother was injured when two young boys pelted her with golf balls as she rode her bike home from work.

Road.cc updates their 2016 article on the 10 most hysterical anti-cycling headlines in the notorious Daily Mail tabloid, this time listing “20 of the most hysterical Daily Mail anti-cycling headlines” — including the classic “Lunacy, blight, and the scourge of lycra louts.”

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Local 

It seems it’s a small world for tragedies, too. Less than six years after Fredrick “Woon” Frazier was killed in a South LA hit-and-run,  26-year old Miah Ladelle Banks was fatally shot at a New Year’s Eve party at a DTLA warehouse, along with another person; Banks was the sister of Woon’s convicted killer, Mariah Kandise Banks.

Streetsblog recommends getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city by peddling your bike around the San Gabriel Valley’s Santa Fe Dam. Or maybe pedaling a pedal boat.

 

State

A Carlsbad woman escaped with a slap on the wrist for killing 35-year old Christine Embree as she rode an ebike with her 18-month old daughter, who was miraculously unscathed; 43-year old Lindsay Turmelle was sentenced to 90 days in county jail and 90 days home vacation confinement, after pleading guilty to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. Then again, she did say she’s really, really sorry, so there’s that.

A 13-year old San Diego girl suffered a critical head injury when she fell off her bike crossing a Pacific Beach intersection; she wasn’t wearing a helmet, despite state law requiring a helmet for anyone under 18 riding a bicycle. The sad thing is that this sort of fall is exactly what bike helmets were designed to protect against. Not crashes with drivers at 50 mph. 

Vallejo cleared out a homeless encampment, at the threat of arresting any holdouts, in order to begin work on a bike path.

 

National

Momentum recommends seven US cities offering “bike-friendly destinations for sunshine and two-wheeled good times” — which we could all use about now — including San Francisco, Santa Monica and San Diego on the Left Coast. Although hoping for sunshine in San Francisco in the middle of the winter may be asking too much.

Velo predicts five ebike trends they expect to see in the coming year, from more electric cargo bikes to tighter regulations.

A new law allows Oregon drivers to pass bicyclists in a no-passing zone, as long as they stay five mph below the posted speed limit and there are no on-coming vehicles. Similar provisions have been vetoed multiple times by California governors, for reasons only they and their CHP Wormtongues understand. 

Chicago has finally completed work on the city’s long-promised Dickens Ave Neighborhood Greenway, including the city’s first bike-friendly traffic diverter, after nearly five years of NIMBY opposition.

After legendary carmaker Lee Iacocca saved Detroit’s Chrysler, he became an early ebike entrepreneur.

A New York Times podcast considers why so many more pedestrians are getting killed on our streets, as other rich nations have surpassed American in protecting pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. Which is the first and last time they even mention bikes, even though our death rates are climbing, too. Thanks to David Wolfberg for the link.

Something funny is going on with a Richmond, Virginia bike shop, where the owner disappeared after the store shut down abruptly, leaving dozens of customers without the bikes they paid for, while giant bikemaker Giant is suing the shop for nearly $150,000 in unpaid bills; a notice on the shop’s Facebook page promises it will reopen later this month, and everyone will get their bikes. But I wouldn’t hold your breath.

 

International

Very few people biked to work when Canberra, Australia opened its first bike path 50 years ago; the city now boasts 370 bike paths covering over 600 miles, and is considered the country’s bicycling capital.

 

Competitive Cycling

LA’s Williams brothers may still be brothers, but they’re no longer teammates, as younger brother Corey left the L39ION of Los Angeles cycling team he co-founded to decamp for the Miami Blazers team started by Williams Racing Development, which he also co-founded along with brother and former US cit champ Justin.

 

Finally…

Maybe you can’t run away with the circus, but you can ride there. Or where it used to be, anyway.

And actor Will Smith gives a new bike to a man who rode his bicycle across Africa to go to college.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Update: 45-year old woman killed in Simi Valley collision while biking in crosswalk

December 29, 2023 / / 8 comments

More bad news leading into what should be a happy weekend.

The Simi Valley Police Department is reporting that a woman was killed in a collision while riding her bike Thursday afternoon.

According to a press release from the department, the victim, identified only as a 45-year old Simi Valley resident, was struck by a driver at Fitzgerald Road and Erringer Road around 1:46 pm yesterday.

She riding west in the crosswalk on the eastbound side of Fitzgerald, when she was struck by a driver traveling south on Erringer.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

It’s important to note that bicycles are allowed in crosswalks in California, and that all crosswalks are bidirectional.

The intersection is controlled with a four-way stop; there’s no word on whether one or both people properly observed the stop and right-of-way.

Simi Valley police investigators report neither party appeared to be impaired.

Anyone with information is urged to call Simi Valley Traffic Collision Investigator Eric Cooke at 805/583-6185, or email ecooke@simivalley.org.

This is at least the 73rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

There have been reports of at least two other deaths in this week in the Los Angeles area that remain unconfirmed.

Update: The victim has been identified as 45-year old Simi Valley resident Patricia Cooper. 

The vehicle the driver struck her with was a 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLS 450, an oversized SUV with a high, flat grill virtually designed to kill.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Patricia Cooper and her loved ones.

Thanks to Linda Righetti for the heads-up.

 

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

69-year old man riding bike killed in Simi Valley right hook crash; 32nd SoCal bicycling death already this year

April 29, 2022 / / Comments Off on 69-year old man riding bike killed in Simi Valley right hook crash; 32nd SoCal bicycling death already this year

There just doesn’t seem to be any end to the carnage on Southern California streets this year.

Ventura radio station KTVA is reporting a man riding a bicycle was killed in a Simi Valley collision Wednesday afternoon.

According to Ventura County Star, 69-year old Simi Valley resident Stephen Wright was riding his “10-speed style” road bike north on Sycamore Drive, south of Los Angeles Ave, when he was right hooked by the driver of commercial flatbed truck around 12:15 pm.

He died at the scene.

The driver stopped following the crash and cooperated with investigators. Police don’t suspect he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

There’s a painted bike lane on northbound Sycamore, but nothing to protect riders from vehicles turning onto Los Angeles, or into the parking lots below it.

A police commander notes Wright was wearing a helmet, which clearly didn’t do any good in this case. Nor would it be likely to in a collision like that.

Anyone with information is urged to call Simi Valley Traffic Officer Bryan Sarfaty at 805/583-6189 or email bsarfaty@simivalley.org.

This is at least the 32nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

That puts us on a pace for nearly 100 bicycling deaths this year — almost twice the average from just a few years ago.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Stephen Wright and all his loved ones. 

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

71-year old man killed riding bicycle in Simi Valley collision, 4th SoCal bike death this week

December 26, 2021 / / Comments Off on 71-year old man killed riding bicycle in Simi Valley collision, 4th SoCal bike death this week

This isn’t the news any of us wanted for Christmas.

The Ventura County Star is reporting that a 71-year old man was killed riding his bike in Simi Valley Friday night.

According to the paper, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding on Royal Ave west of First Street when he was struck by the driver of an SUV around 7:10 pm.

He died at the scene.

There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or any factors that may had led to it.

While the driver wasn’t suspected of being under the influence, the paper bizarrely questions whether the victim was sober, without giving any reason to suspect he might not have been.

A preliminary investigation determined the driver of the SUV was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol but it was unclear if the bicyclist was sober.

This is the worst kind of victim blaming.

If this implication came from the police, the paper should make that clear, and explain why they suspect he might not have been sober.

If not, they should be ashamed of themselves.

Anyone with information is urged to call Simi Valley police accident investigators Laura Austin at 805/583-6183 or Cody Dee at 805/583-6224.

This is at least the 66th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

He was also the fourth SoCal bicyclist killed since Tuesday.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Santa Clarita mountain biker dies on Simi Valley trail Saturday morning

May 19, 2019 / / One comment

Cars and drivers aren’t the only dangers we face.

Sometimes it’s your own body that lets you down.

That’s what happened yesterday morning on trail above Simi Valley, where a man apparently died of natural causes while riding with a group of friends.

According to the Ventura County Star, the victim was riding on the Undertow Trail, which they describe as a popular mountain bike trail south of Hummingbird Ranch outside Simi Valley, when he began to feel ill around 10:40 am.

His riding companions told him to turn back, and called 911.

The Ventura County Fire Department and a county helicopter crew responded; sadly, the 52-year old Santa Clarita resident died before rescue personnel could arrive.

This is at least the 30th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

It’s also a reminder to see your doctor on a regular basis — especially if you’re having unexplained chest pains or difficulty breathing, no matter how fit you may feel.

It may not have made a difference in this case.

But it might in yours.

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

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

Update: 12-year old bike rider killed by semi-truck in Simi Valley

May 25, 2013 / / 55 comments

Heartbreaking news, as word is just coming in that a young bicyclist was killed in a collision with a semi-truck in Simi Valley tonight.

According to the Ventura County Star, a 12-year old boy was struck by a Fresh and Easy delivery truck while riding his bike around 7:30 pm Saturday at the intersection of Tapo Street and Alamo Street.

The paper says the truck was turning onto Alamo from southbound Tapo when it struck the boy, who has not been publicly identified; a report from KTLA-5 suggests the truck was actually leaving a nearby parking lot when the collision occurred.

No word which direction the truck was turning or how the collision occurred; a satellite view shows bike lanes in three of the four directions leading to and from the intersection, but not in front of the Fresh and Easy store.

As if the death isn’t tragic enough, the victim was riding with an eight-year old friend who may have witnessed the wreck.

Simi Valley police are investigating the collision, and the driver is reportedly cooperating.

This is the 28th cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third in Ventura County; that equals the total for Ventura County for all of last year.

My prayers for the victim and his family. 

Update: By now, it’s clear from some of the comments below that the victim’s family has been notified of the death, but the victim still has not been publicly identified. If anyone would like to share the name of the victim so he can be remembered with the respect he deserves, or has any more information on how this collision occurred, please let me know. You can add a comment here, or find my email address on the About page.

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Update 2: The Simi Valley Acorn has identified the victim as Jacob Sellers of Simi Valley, and added some details that clarify the situation, at least in part. 

According to the paper, the victim’s mother, Brenda Sellers, was told that Jacob was crushed under the back wheels of the truck, which dragged his bike some distance down the road. The driver was apparently unaware of the collision; a motorcycle rider had to chase him down and tell him he’d hit someone. 

A comment left here by a woman who identifies herself as Brenda Sellers says he was riding on the sidewalk and was riding too fast to avoid the truck.

And yes, minors are allowed to ride on any sidewalk in Simi Valley.

According to Sellers, her son did everything right.

“The bike he was on had brakes, he knew how to use his brakes. . . . So it breaks my heart that there are people mad because they think he was in the street riding his bike or he was assuming that he had the right of way, because that’s not Jacob, that’s not how he was,” she said.

“He was wearing his helmet. . . . He was doing everything he was supposed to be.”

She may be right.

Based on the description, it would appear that the truck driver may have failed to notice Jacob riding on the sidewalk, and pulled forward across the bike rider’s path as it turned right — a danger most bike riders would recognize, and one that few 12-year olds would have the skills to avoid.

Jacob Sellers was on this way home for dinner, riding his new bike, when he was killed just a week after his 12th birthday.

A fund has been established in Jacob’s memory; as of Friday night, it had raised over $15,000, surpassing the initial goal $10,000.

Thanks to Henry Fung for the Acorn link.

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

Counter-protest angry motorists in San Pedro, ride in Simi Valley to fight homelessness

May 17, 2013 / / 14 comments

A couple quick time-sensitive items to wrap up a far too busy first full day back online.

And hey, thanks to the Santa Monica Police Department for cracking down on sidewalk cyclists on Bike to Work Day. That will certainly encourage more people to take up bike commuting.

Not to mention this was the first time I’ve visited a B2W Day pit stop that was delayed by a gun threat.

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First up is the all-too-typical furor over road diets and bike lanes, this time in L.A.’s long suffering and usually forgotten port city of San Pedro.

A pair of underused streets — Westmont and Capitol Drives — recently underwent reductions to calm high-speed traffic, dropping one lane in each direction and installing the typical door zone bike lanes.

And needless to say, motorists are up in arms, even though the streets are almost always empty. And even though it should be bike riders complaining about the lack of buffers between them and flinging car doors.

In fact, I’m told Westmont, which is causing most of the anger, only backs up twice a day, when parents drop off and pick up their children at the local school. And then for only 20 minutes at a time.

Which means the roads are clear for 23 hours and 20 minutes every weekday — which, by my admittedly math-challenged calculations, that would appear to be most of the day. And which would suggest that it doesn’t back up at all on weekends.

God forbid that parents would address that minimal level of congestion by allowing their children to use those bike lanes to ride to school — let alone walk — and avoid the whole barely there mess to begin with.

After all, this is a community where the local high school students are forbidden from riding to school because the campus doesn’t even have or want bike parking.

And as we all know, the convenience of drivers is far more important than the lives and safety of cyclists. Even school aged ones.

I’m told the villagers are planning to shake their pitchforks angry motorists are planning to take to the streets in protest on Monday at 4 pm. Just coincidentally in time for the evening news.

Meanwhile, bike riders are encouraged to counter protest, not by confronting the insistently motoring public’s complaints, but simply by riding the bike lanes when the cameras are present.

The message will be clear, as the cameras will show angry drivers protesting over streets devoid of traffic backups, while bike riders calmly make use of the lanes studies show will reduce collisions and serious injuries for all road users.

Even for drivers who insist road capacity should be maintained for 40 minutes of peak traffic, at the expense of all other users at any other time.

If you ride in the San Pedro area — or can make it down to a part of the city most Angelenos have never seen and many don’t even know exists — you’re strongly encouraged to meet at the Albertson’s parking lot at Westmont Drive and S. Western Ave at 3:45 pm Monday.

Short notice, I know.

But it’s a good cause. And all you have to do is keep calm and ride your bike.

Thanks to Allyson Vought for the tip.

………

Some people complain about the many homeless people in Southern California.  Most simply ignore them.

A few — far too few — actually care enough to do something about it.

If you fit in that category, you’ll want to head up to Simi Valley on Saturday for the first ever — not the oxymoronic first annual, thank you — Ride for the Homeless. Rides range from two to 10 miles for a $20 registration fee and 25, 50 or 100 miles for just $40, followed by a barbeque and raffle.

It’s a great cause, and highly recommended.

Thanks to Patrick Pascal for the heads-up.

………

The LA Weekly abandons its sometimes irrational anti-bike attitude — okay, the anti-bike attitude is always irrational; they just don’t always express it — to profile one of my favorite people, LACBC Executive Director Jen Klausner.

………

Oh, please.

In an absurd take on the current state of bicycling that ignores trends over the past several years and assumes that the highly diverse bicycling community is just one big monoculture, the Wall Street Journal concludes there is a trend towards casual wear when riding.

And points the finger at a backlash against Lance Armstrong.

Never mind that the more casual, non-spandex bikewear has been growing in popularity for several years, dating back to when only the French and Greg LeMond accused Lance of doping.

Accurately, as it turns out.

Or that bike riders ride in different ways and for different purposes. And what works for a half-century ride up the coast isn’t what you’d want to wear for a bike date or a quick ride to the corner market.

I can also assure the WSJ that the reason no American municipality ranks among the world’s top 20 bike-friendly cities has a lot more to do with a lack of decent infrastructure and governmental support — not to mention San Pedro-style anti-bike lane NIMBYism — than a little spandex.

………

Finally, I hope to see you next Wednesday, when the LACBC presents five perspectives on California’s rules of the road for cyclists. One of which will be mine.

Perspective, that is, not rules. Although I have a few of those, too.

It takes place on the first floor of LACBC’s headquarters, 634 South Spring Street, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm; free for LACBC members and just $10 for non-members.

……..

I’ll be guest editing LA Streetsblog on Friday, as Damien Newton takes some well-deserved time off. So be sure to stop by and see if I can make a muck of their well-oiled transportation news and advocacy machine.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Salmon cyclist killed in early morning Simi Valley collision; possible Riverside bike rider fatally shot

August 11, 2012 / / 6 comments

Just when it looked like we might make it through a single week without another cyclist getting killed — which would have made it the first fatality-free week in the last 11 — comes word that two riders have died in the last two days.

One by truck. One by gun.

………

A 62-year old Simi Valley man died in a Thousand Oaks hospital less than an hour after he was hit by a semi-truck while riding the wrong way on a darkened street.

According to the Ventura County Star, Trinidad Nava was riding south in the north-bound side of First Street at Easy Street in Simi Valley around 4:35 am Friday, when a big rig truck made a right turn out of a driveway and hit Nava head-on; KTVA radio says the truck was leaving a car dealership.

The paper reports he was riding without lights despite the early hour; Nava was declared dead of blunt force trauma at 5:30 am.

The driver, who has not been publicly identified, stayed at the scene and tried to help him.

The Star notes that the crash occurred just blocks from where the Simi Valley City Council recently rejected proposed bike lanes on Los Angeles Avenue at the urging of local business owners; however, even if they had been approved, they would not have made a difference in this case.

What might have helped is better education and outreach.

Many cyclists who learned to ride in Central American countries were taught to ride facing traffic, rather than with traffic; some Americans were taught the same thing, especially those who started riding as children in the 50s and 60s. Yet riding against traffic greatly increases risk to riders by placing them where drivers aren’t looking for them, while reducing reaction times and increasing the force of impact.

At the same time, outreach programs, such as the LACBC’s former City of Lights program, have worked to provide lights to riders who may not understand the need for them or have the money to buy them. I don’t know if such a program exists in Ventura County.

Either way, it’s too late to help Navi.

This is the 45th cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Ventura County, following the death of Guadalupe Cruz in Fillmore this June; Cruz was reportedly riding on the wrong side of the street, as well.

My sympathy and prayers for Navi and his loved ones. Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the heads-up.

………

Riverside police report that a man has died after being found suffering from gunshot wounds on Wednesday; the Southwest Riverside News Network says that he was found next to a bicycle.

Thirty-seven-year old Riverside resident Rene Barrientos Corona was found at Arlington Avenue near Fairhaven Drive in the La Sierra Hills neighborhood when police responded to a report of a man down and bleeding in the street.

Police initially thought he had been hit by a car before medical personnel determined that he had been shot; Corona died at a local hospital the following night.

There’s no indication whether he was riding the bike or walking it at the time of the shooting; it’s possible that the bike wasn’t even his. However, the presence of the bike and the fact that police assumed he’d been hit by a car would suggest it was.

Witnesses said a dark, four-door vehicle with a spoiler on the back sped away from the area where Corona was found. Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Ron Sanfilippo at 951-353-7105 or Detective Rick Cobb at 951-353-7135.

Corona is the third bike rider to be killed by gunfire in Southern California this year, compared to nine last year.

My prayers for Corona and his family.

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