Tag Archive for South Los Angeles

Why LA fails the transit density test, new Metro K-Line bike lockers, and West Hollywood to give free bikes to residents

December 1, 2022 / / Comments Off on Why LA fails the transit density test, new Metro K-Line bike lockers, and West Hollywood to give free bikes to residents

It’s the 7th day of the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! 

There’s never been a charge to visit this site. No subscription fees, no paywall. Anyone and everyone is welcome, at any time, for any reason. 

This is the only time of year we ask you to contribute what you can to help keep it that way. 

So ask yourself, what this site is worth to you? Then take a moment right now, and donate via PayPal or Zelle.

And thanks to Paul F, Johannes H, The Muirs, Audrey K and Anonymous for their generous support to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.

Give today!

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A new Brookings Institute report says creating urban activity centers combining “community institutions, tourism destinations, consumption amenities, major institutions, and jobs in traded sectors” are key to green commutes.

Which helps explain why Los Angeles ranks so low in transit use, despite its high density, since those activity centers are so widely dispersed, and lack many of the key components.

Thanks to Gordon Chaffin for the heads-up.

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Metro reports bike lockers are now available at five K Line stations, on what was formerly known as the Crenshaw Line.

The lockers can now be found at —

  • Expo/Crenshaw
  • MLK Jr.
  • Leimart Park
  • Fairview Heights
  • Downtown Inglewood

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West Hollywood is partnering with Schwinn to give away 50 free bicycles to WeHo residents in an effort to reduce car dependency.

You have to be over 18, and commit to riding at least 20 miles a month.

Although that really should be 20 miles a week, but still.

You can apply for the program here.

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The last CicLAvia of the year rolls through historic South LA this Sunday, with an early 3 pm cutoff.

The latest weather forecast calls for showers ending late morning, leading to a cool and sunny afternoon.

So bundle up, and get out there for one last carfree celebration before the holidays.

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This is who we share the road with.

Police in San Luis Obispo responded to a report of a driver striking a curb before hitting a street sign and crashing into a bridge abutment.

When the driver failed to show signs of intoxication, they just wrote it off as an oopsie, and had the car towed.

And somehow missed the couple lying dead in a creak bed, along with their dog, hidden under thick brush.

It wasn’t until their bodies were found the next day that police realized the speeding driver had slammed into them as they were walking their dog.

Which led police to go back and “interview” the 24-year old driver.

Not interrogate. Not arrest. Not even ticket.

At least, not yet. And maybe never.

Thanks to How the West Was Saved for the link.

………

Nothing like watching someone use bolt cutters to steal a bike in broad daylight.

 

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

No bias here. A New York judge pointed a finger at the city’s “problem” with ebikes and motorized bicycles, as he sentenced a man to one to three years behind bars for killing Gone Girl and Broadway actor Lisa Banes as she was crossing the street — even though the careless, red light-running rider was on an e-scooter.

No bias here, either. A New York writer suggests combating the scourge of ebikes by picking up your takeout in person, claiming speeding ebike riders have made jaywalking a blood sport.

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

Police in Oxnard CA are on the lookout for a bike-riding bank robber who made his escape on two wheels after ripping off a Wells Fargo.

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Local 

Urbanize LA offers more details on the $5.1 in Westside transportation improvements approved by the city council this week, in one of outgoing CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin’s final acts on the council.

 

State 

Palo Alto is considering a ban on ebikes on unpaved trails in local nature preserves, apparently concluding that only strong, able-bodied people who don’t need a ped-assist should visit them.

A San Francisco op-ed says Slow Streets helped bring the city’s Noe Valley community together, and the city needs more of them.

Police in Rancho Cordova arrested a 42-year old homeless man in the apparent unprovoked attack with a machete on a 60-year old, recently retired ebike rider, whose injuries were described as “unsurvivable.”

 

National

Streetsblog looks at where bikes scored big in the recent election.

A podcast from Outside looks at what happens to drivers who hit bicyclists. Short answer: Not much, in most cases.

More harm caused by motor vehicles, as researchers blame rubber particulates from car tires for a massive die-off of coho salmon in the Pacific Northwest.

The head man at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas is one of us, using a bicycle to get around the massive event.

Axios says Transportation Secretary Pete is big on bikes, as he stops in Chicago to promote aviation workers.

A furious Chicago father demands safe routes to schools after drivers hit his bike-riding daughter, not once but twice. Although he seems a lot calmer than I would have been under the circumstances.

That’s more like it. An Ohio man was sentenced to eight to twelve years behind bars for the drugged, head-on crash that killed a man riding a bicycle; he also lost his driver’s license for life and prohibited from buying or owning a motor vehicle.

Massachusetts Hyundai dealers honored Springfield’s Bob the Bike Man for his efforts to get more kids on bicycles despite suffering from a terminal brain condition.

Life is cheap in New York, where a cab driver walked with just a lousy one-year license suspension after his passenger fatally doored a bike rider when he failed to pull up to the curb to let them out.

Baltimore residents and business owners sound a familiar refrain, claiming they weren’t told about plans for a lane reduction and protected bike lanes, even though they’d been in the works for years.

Life is cheap in Louisiana, where a 29-year old woman walked without a day behind bars for killing a man riding a bicycle, after a judge suspended her entire five-year sentence.

 

International

No surprise here, as a new study shows protected bike lane networks have “significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower transport costs, prevent road fatalities, and improve the quality of life for people” around the world, concluding that bike lanes “reduce emissions as effectively as highways create them.”

Cyclist offers tips on how to keep your bike from squeaking and creaking. Although a well-lubed bike won’t do anything to keep you from doing creaking.

Cycling Weekly recommends the best holiday sales on bikes and bicycle gear in the US and the UK.

The UK’s leading bike-building school is permanently shuttering its doors, battered by Covid, Brexit and unrelenting financial challenges.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson departed office with a number of gifts — included a secondhand, $4,800 bike from the president of Kurdistan.

The new SUB from Vienna-based Vello claims to be the world’s lightest e-cargo bike, checking in at a svelte 53 pounds for the titanium version.

Bicycling says Budapest residents are pedaling to power the city’s Christmas tree, which was jeopardized by the ongoing energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

More proof bicyclists face the same problems everywhere, as bike riders in Dwarka, India demand better bike infrastructure, arguing there’s currently nothing to protect them.

NPR reports more Afghans are using bikes to get around as the economy continues to decline following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, even though women and girls are now prohibited from riding, even if they had before.

An Israeli study shows 70% of ebike and e-scooter users who suffered facial injuries weren’t wearing helmets.

An Italian ultracyclist is attempting to bike across the bottom of the world, setting off on a record-setting effort to fat bike across Antarctica.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tragic news from Italy, where former Amstel Gold Race, La Fleche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Paris-Nice champ Davide Rebellin was killed when he was hit by a truck on a training ride; the Italian cyclist was still competing at age 51, despite a two-year doping ban that cost him an Olympic silver medal.

The Tour de France will depart from its traditional Paris finish for the first time in 2024, looking for a nice finish in Nice, instead.

Trans cyclist Emily Bridges says she still dreams of riding for Wales at the Commonwealth Games, even after the UK barred new trans cyclists from competition pending a review scheduled for next year.

 

Finally…

Charles Barkley is five grand poorer after losing a bet that he could ride a kid’s bike, even though Shaq could. San Diegans name their cute little street sweeper.

And look ma, no hands.

Or feet, for that matter.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

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

DA won’t prosecute deputies in Dijon Kizzee shooting, and drunken Huntington Beach hit-and-run death goes to jury

November 16, 2022 / / Comments Off on DA won’t prosecute deputies in Dijon Kizzee shooting, and drunken Huntington Beach hit-and-run death goes to jury

It looks like there won’t be any justice for Dijon Kizzee, after all.

The Los Angeles County DA’s office announced that a pair of sheriff’s deputies won’t be charged for killing 29-year old Dijon Kizzee in South LA in 2020, in what began as a traffic stop for the crime of riding salmon on his lowrider bike.

Kizzee attempted to flee on foot, and was shot 16 times in the front and back as he ran away after picking up a gun he had dropped, suggesting the firing continued long after he was on the ground.

Never mind that Kizzee never pointed the gun at the deputies, or attempted to confront them with it.

His death came during the protests over the killing of George Floyd, which may have contributed to his decision to flee when the deputies tried to stop him.

His family has filed a $35 million claim against the county, which is a required precursor to filing a lawsuit. His family’s attorneys have called it a case of “biking while Black” in the largely Black and Hispanic neighborhood, where riding against traffic is a common response to dangerous streets.

Meanwhile, Knock LA insists there’s no evidence to support crucial details of the deputies stories.

Kizee’s shooting was just one of a number of questionable shootings by LA County sheriff’s deputies, which led to weeks of protests in the local community.

And like the other cases, no action by Los Angeles Count District Attorney George Gascón, who ran on a platform of holding police accountable for their actions.

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The trial of 28-year old alleged drunk driver Victor Manuel Romero has gone to the jury for a verdict, three years after the hit-and-run crash that killed 33-year-old Raymond MacDonald in Huntington Beach.

Romero was over twice the legal alcohol limit during a series of hit-and-runs, starting with crashing into the car belonging to the bar owner where he’d been drinking, and ending when he fled on foot after slamming his car into a tree.

Sandwiched between was MacDonald’s death as he rode his bike in a crosswalk on Beach Blvd at Adams Ave.

Romero’s public defender had bizarrely claimed that he wasn’t responsible for his actions, blaming a head injury sustained in a fight in the bar parking lot for his actions.

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People responded to yesterday’s call to turn out to oppose plans to remove bulb outs on Fair Oaks Ave in South Pasadena, would would make the street even more dangerous for anyone not in a motor vehicle.

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Orange County continues to make slow but steady progress on building new bike facilities, including new bike lanes in Buena Park.

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UC Davis grad student Megan Lynch continues to question why the campus enjoys its newly renewed status as a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University.

Particularly after a bike-riding student was killed by the driver of a university truck, in a crash that still hasn’t been adequately explained.

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Yet another ebike rebate program is kicking in before dysfunctional California can get its fully funded ebike rebate act together.

This time in Austin, Texas.

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It’s the opposite of road rage, as a bike rider in the UK apologizes for crash into a van, and the driver says “don’t worry about it.”

@norfolkdashcam

The Van Driver was fine about the situation. No dramas. #Accident #Cyclist #Cycle #Van #Norfolk #NorfolkDashCam #UKRoads #DashCamFootage #DashCam #UKDashCam #CaughtOnCamera #Fail #CyclistsOfTiktok

♬ original sound – Norfolk Dash Cam

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Now that’s what I call an endorsement.

Averaging almost 14 mph for 34 hours on a heavy three-speed roadie isn’t bad, either.

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‘Tis the season.

Over 300 Odessa, Texas second graders got matching new bikes and helmets thanks to Occidental Petroleum and bike charity Wish for Wheels.

Kansas City’s first bicycle collective is celebrating 15 years of turning junk into transportation for the city’s most vulnerable residents.

A team of 200 volunteers are working to prepare 400 “gently used” bicycles to give to Atlanta kids in need this holiday season.

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

A Hoboken, New Jersey city councilmember says he was the victim of a road-raging driver, who intentionally plowed into his bikeshare bike.

A London man was lucky to get out of the way when an SUV driver accelerated at him as he attempted to block the vehicle with his bicycle, destroying his bike.

London bicyclists are subjected to “dehumanizing language” and abuse on social media, and fear that anger could translate to attacks on the roads.

No bias here. A leading Swiss economist says that people on bicycles can be up to four times more damaging to the environment than cars, accusing officials of using “creative accounting” and “official tricks” to hide the damage done by bikes — apparently because he somehow thinks all bike riders refuel with beef, and drivers evidently don’t. 

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

Police in New York are looking for a man on an ebike who shot and killed a promising 21-year old basketball player.

Hampshire, England police are on the lookout for a man on a bicycle who threatened and shoved a man riding a mobility scooter after he moved his scooter over to let the bike rider pass.

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Local

No surprise here, as the woman whose home was destroyed by actress Anne Heche in a drunken crash last August has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Heche’s estate; Heche later died from her injuries after falling into a coma once she was finally extracted from the fiery crash.

 

State 

He gets it. A Rancho Bernardo author says we must “recognize and respect that walkers and bicyclists have the right to safety on our roads.” And we can’t use the fact that there are “bad actors in every mode as an excuse to not address the reality of these tragic incidents.”

San Diego has announced the three finalists in a contest to name the city’s new mini electric street sweeper, designed to remove trash from bike lanes and other narrow spots, even as San Diego reduces the frequency of street sweeping in large swaths of the city.

Bakersfield officials held a public workshop to develop a package of traffic calming tools that can be used to tame the city’s notoriously deadly streets.

 

National

Bicycling rates the best early Black Friday ebike sales available right now. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Channing Tatum is one of us, as his relationship with Zoë Kravitz went public last year when a New York paparazzo spotted Tatum giving Kravitz a ride to her writing partner’s house on the back of his BMX bike.

A new accessible mountain bike trail built on the site of a former New Jersey wild animal park is designed to accommodate bike riders of all abilities

A local weekly ranks the top ten Philly bikeways for your next visit to the City of Brotherly Love.

 

International

Canadian Cycling Magazine goes riding on dirt roads through the interior of Mexico from Puerto Vallarta to Mexico City.

Bike shops holding out for big Black Friday sales may be disappointed, as new research shows UK shoppers are holding onto their money.

The Jerusalem Post says riding a bike is a great way to get to know your city better.

Hanoi, Vietnam is considering a one-year bikeshare pilot program with 1,000 bikes — including 500 ebikes — available at 94 docking stations throughout the city

 

Competitive Cycling

After a pair of top ten finishes in the Giro Donne and Tour de France Femmes, Italian classics specialist Silvia Persico thinks she has a real shot at winning the women’s Tour.

Some of the top pros are hanging up their bike shoes and pulling on running shoes to keep in shape during the off season.

 

Finally…

Your next bike seat could be made of environmentally friendly cork. Now you, too, can build your own DIY bike made entirely of nuts.

No, not the kind you eat.

And shockingly, painted stripes and car-tickler plastic bendy posts are no match for bigass trucks.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Update: Man riding bicycle killed in South LA’s Florence neighborhood; 22nd SoCal bicyclist killed in hit-and-runs this year

September 30, 2022 / / Comments Off on Update: Man riding bicycle killed in South LA’s Florence neighborhood; 22nd SoCal bicyclist killed in hit-and-runs this year

This isn’t the news anyone wanted to end our week with.

The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver who killed a man riding a bicycle in the Florence neighborhood of South Los Angeles last night.

The victim, identified only as an adult male, was riding north on Wall Street at 61st Street when he was run down by the driver of a westbound panel van around 11 pm Thursday.

He died at the scene.

The driver continued without stopping, dragging the victim around 30 feet underneath the van. Police say he had to have felt the impact and known he’d hit something.

The crash, which was caught on security cam, took place on a quiet residential intersection controlled only by two-way stop signs on Wall. KCBS-2 suggests the victim may have run the stop sign, though that is unclear at this time.

Police are looking for a white commercial panel van with a roof rack and conduit carrier, possibly a 1996 to 2022 GMC Savana or Chevrolet Express, with likely front end damage.

Investigators speculate the driver may be a plumber or construction worker who lives in the area.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Officer Alex Guizar, Central Traffic Detectives, at 213/833-3713 or email 39761@lapd.online, or call the Central Traffic Division Watch Commander at 213/833-3746.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.

This is at least the 69th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 21st that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the 11th in the City of Los Angeles.

Twenty-two of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Update: The victim has been identified as 72-year old James Ledford. 

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

 

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

6th Street Viaduct bike lanes get failing grade from bicyclists, and LA mayor candidate Karen Bass rides CicLAvia

July 11, 2022 / / Comments Off on 6th Street Viaduct bike lanes get failing grade from bicyclists, and LA mayor candidate Karen Bass rides CicLAvia

There were two big events in the Los Angeles bike world this weekend.

Although which will have a bigger impact in the long run remains to be seen.

First up is the official opening of the long awaited replacement for the crumbling, 1930’s 6th Street Viaduct.

The lengthy, multiple arched bridge stretching over the LA River, rail yards and highways received rave reviews from almost everyone, with outgoing LA Mayor Eric Garcetti calling it “our generation’s love letter to the city.”

With the exception of people on two wheels, that is, who questioned why a little more of the $588 million budget couldn’t have gone towards a better protected bike lane.

Something the LA Times just touched on.

“The layout is perfect,” Stevi Hardy said to her friends as she contemplated the design. “I wish the bike lane was more permanent. It would just be safer if there was a cement protection.”

The bike path is protected by plastic bollards with low rubber stoppers. A car had already rolled over one, according to a tweet.

Hardy and her husband are members of the Montebello Bicycle Coalition and trekked to the bridge with friends from various parts of Southeast Los Angeles County. Their son, Miller, who is 2, offered a thumbs-up from his shaded bicycle seat before doing his best Spider-Man impression, shooting a pretend web.

This complaints start at the beginning, which is oddly far from the start of the bridge, forcing riders to share the lane with impatient drivers for the first 200 feet.

The good news is there are some connections to the bridge from some existing bike lanes.

The bad, not enough. And not safe enough.

https://twitter.com/multimodalLA/status/1546160032344969222

https://twitter.com/multimodalLA/status/1546322536887005184

Then there’s the limited protected offered by the low curbs and chubby plastic bendy posts.

Which didn’t stand up to the very first vehicles on the very first day.

Top rendering from 6th Street Viaduct Twitter account.

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Next up is the triumphant return of CicLAvia, which took over South LA’s Western Ave in the year’s first event.

CD8 Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson struck the right note in opening the day’s festivities.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Karen Bass demonstrated she’s one us, as she rode Sunday’s CicLAvia along with her brother.

However, billionaire mall developer Rick Caruso, her competitor in the race, was apparently a no show, missing a golden opportunity to demonstrate a more human side and connect with thousands of LA voters.

Next up is a return of the popular Meet The Hollywoods CicLAvia through Hollywood and West Hollywood next month.

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CLR Effect and Claremont Cyclist author Michael Wagner forwards a heartbreaking report about the installation of a ghost bike for Debbie Morgan-Alam, who was killed late last month by an alleged DUI driver.

Wagner reports her alleged 19-year old killer was driving with three times the legal alcohol limit, and with cannabis in her system.

Although the legal alcohol limit for underage drivers is zero.

Photos by Michael Wagner

Personally, I hate ghost bikes. I hope I never see another one.

But I will keep supporting them as long as people keep dying needlessly on our streets.

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This is who we share the internet with.

And the answer is…

Thanks to How The West Was Saved for the heads-up.

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The president of Slovakia is one of us, too.

https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1546166517103984641

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Streets For All founder Michael Schneider visits New York, and discovers that outdoor dining and parking protected bike lanes can peacefully coexist.

https://twitter.com/schneider/status/1546259940704141313

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Everyone knows you need an SUV to ferry the kids, right?

Right?

And note she’s riding uphill, too.

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

Portland police have rearrested a man who allegedly attacked a bike-riding man and his young daughter in a racist attack based on their Japanese ancestry, after he failed to appear in court.

A bicyclist learns the hard way to stay out of the door zone, in a horrifying crash that remarkably appeared to end without major injuries.

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

A Cleveland woman faces neglect charges after a pizza shop worker spotted her recklessly riding a bike, with her two-month old diaper-wearing twins in a milk crate held to the handlebars with just a bungee cord.

A Grand Rapids, Michigan man was arrested after weaving a Lime ebike in and out of freeway traffic with a BAC of .19, well over twice the legal alcohol limit.

An Ohio man was busted for shoplifting despite a failed attempt to make a getaway on his Huffy.

Police in New York are looking for a man who rode off on a bikeshare bike after stabbing another man to death on a park bench.

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Local

He gets it. LA Times letters editor Paul Thornton says when it comes to the closure of Griffith Park Drive through Griffith Park, “Cyclists need this. Runners and walkers need this. Los Angeles needs this. And frankly, I need this.”

The Sierra Club calls the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposal “a big step closer to safer LA streets.”

Shia LaBeouf is still one of us, taking his tattooed thighs for a ride through Pasadena.

 

State 

La Jolla’s Fay Ave bike path will get year-round volunteer cleanup efforts, along with re-naturalization with native plants.

San Diego police were quick to blame the victim when a woman was seriously injured after she allegedly swerved her bike into the traffic lane, and collided with a car driven by a 79-year old woman. Although it sounds a lot more like a likely violation of the three-foot passing law to me.

He gets it. A San Diego letter writer says bikeways are an important part of the city’s future, with separated bike lanes proven to reduce bike crashes by 80%.

A 16-year old Palo Alto girl was the victim of a strong-arm robbery when a man pushed her off her bike, and stole her cellphone and debit card.

San Francisco plans to add another 50 miles of bike lanes in an effort to tame some of the city’s most dangerous streets.

 

National

A writer for the Kansas City Star shares the lessons learned riding the 512-mile Bike Across Kansas.

A Wisconsin man was bike-jacked at gunpoint, a crime that’s far more common in other countries, such as South Africa.

This is who we share the road with. After a Chicago man exchanged words with a driver who nearly ran him down as he crossed the street, the woman’s passenger pulled out a gun and shot at him repeatedly; fortunately, the passenger’s aim sucked. These days you almost have to assume there’s a gun in any car. And don’t count on a gunman’s bad aim to save your ass. 

President Joe Biden was back in the saddle this weekend, albeit sans toe clips, a month after he fell off his bike when he got his foot caught in one.

 

International

Rising gas prices in the UK are leading to surging cargo bike sales.

A bike-riding British mail carrier was run down by one of his own colleagues, who drove another 15 miles before telling police he “may have hit something.”

A UK military veteran shares his thoughts on riding across the country despite losing a leg in Afghanistan.

The brutal invasion of Ukraine didn’t appear to put a damper on Moscow’s summer bicycle parade, with thousands of riders taking part.

Add this one to your bike bucket list. A new 25-mile bike path leads past four major temples in the ancient Madras, in eastern India.

Speaking of India, bike-born knife sharpeners are slowly fading away in Rawalpindi.

Severe gas shortages in Sri Lanka mean residents are leaving their cars in the garage, and taking to their bikes.

The Global Times says “fancy” foreign bikes costing up to $15,000 — from makers like Specialized, Trek and Brompton — are the latest must-have fad for China’s Gen Z.

Peddle ice cream while you peddle your new $1,500 solar-powered ebike from China’s Alibaba — or get two for just $200 more.

 

Competitive Cycling

Who had Bob Jungels 40-mile solo breakaway win on their Tour de France bingo card for Sunday’s ninth stage? The Luxembourger made a triumphant comeback after battling arterial endofibrosis for the past two years.

The formidable Ineos Grenadiers team cracked a little on Sunday when Colombian Dani Martínez did the same, leaving three team members remaining in the Tour’s top ten.

Tadej Pogačar leads the pack by more than a minute over 22-year old Jonas Vingegaard, with American Nielson Powless a surprising ninth at a minute and 55 seconds behind the leader.

Cycling Weekly complains about pro cycling’s failure to mention the war in Ukraine, raging just over a thousand miles from the Tour de France; Russian oligarch Igor Makarov remains on UCI’s management committee, despite heavy sanctions and pressure to remove him.

Fans crowding the race course claimed another casualty last week, when Italy’s Daniel Oss was forced to withdraw from the Tour with a broken neck after clipping one fan, then slamming into another who was leaning out onto the roadway; fortunately, he’s expected to make a full recovery.

The breakout star of this year’s Tour de France is French sprinter Hugo Hofstetter’s black and tan Rottweiler.

Olympic road champ Annemiek van Vleuten won her third Giro Donne title, after surviving a Friday fall.

Hope for all us diabetics, as Canada’s Sébastien Sasseville overcame type 1 to finish 12th in the recent Race Across America, aka RAAM, riding over 3,000 miles in 11 days, 22 hours and 25 minutes.

Cycling Utah offers a brief recap of Saturday’s Crusher in the Tushar gravel race; Keegan Swenson and Haley Smith topped 800 riders from 37 states and eight countries to win the men’s and women’s titles, respectively; Swenson won his in a decisive solo breakaway.

 

Finally…

If you’re planning to steal a police bike, maybe try not to do it right in front of them. That feeling when you get chased on your bike by a crazed fan.

And every bike rider knows how good it feels to get a new bicycle.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

37-year old father killed riding bike in South Los Angeles hit-and-run; once again, public not informed for weeks

July 25, 2020 / / 3 comments

Once again, a man has died following a violent hit-and-run while riding his bike in South Los Angeles.

And once again, the LAPD doesn’t seem to think the public needed to know about it.

According to KCBS-2/KCAL-9, 37-year old South LA resident Jorge Guerra was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding home from the park with his two young children on July 8th.

Fortunately, his two-year old son Nathan and four-year old daughter Madelyn weren’t seriously injured; their father wasn’t so lucky.

Guerra was rushed to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, but lapsed into a coma after arriving; he died of organ failure on July 16th.

The LAPD places the crash on northbound Wadsworth Ave north of 88th Street at 8:40 pm, when a speeding driver slammed into the bike they were riding after turning onto the narrow residential street.

The driver continued north on Wadsworth, crashing into several parked cars before stopping just south of Manchester Blvd. He ran off, leaving the damaged car behind.

Police are still looking for the suspect, who hasn’t been identified; unsurprisingly, the car he was driving was stolen. As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver.

Now Guerra’s wife is faced with raising her kids as a grieving single mother while in the middle of a pandemic.

A crowdfunding campaign to help defray Guerra’s funeral expenses has raised just under $6,000, far short of the $25,000 goal.

Unfortunately, like the death of Melvin “Peanut” Frye last month, the LAPD apparently failed to inform the public at the time of the crash — or alert them to a dangerous car thief hiding in their midst. Even though both Los Angeles and California have Yellow Alert systems to get the word out as quickly as possible.

There’s no explanation for why the LAPD continually refuses to use them; evidently, they’d rather wait until the trail goes cold and people have forgotten key details before asking for their help. Which could be one reason why hit-and-run drivers continue to get away with it here.

Even though similar systems have been used successfully in other cities to bring hit-and-run drivers to justice.

This is at least the 35th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. Over half of those deaths in the county have been hit-and-runs.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jorge Guerra and all his family and loved ones.

Category: Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: LAPD corrals South LA Slasher, Arkansas adopts Idaho Stop, and LA isn’t the happiest place in US

April 4, 2019 / / One comment

Looks like they finally got him.

We hope.

After a nearly two week, bike-born crime spree that left nine men and women with severe cuts to their necks and faces, LAPD detectives announced yesterday that they have made an arrest in the South LA Slasher case.

Police identified 19-year old Len Rey Briones, a homeless man residing in South LA, as the suspect.

Briones would allegedly ride his mountain bike up to the unwary victims and slash them in the face with a knife or some other sharp object, then ride off before they had time to react.

He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

………

Call it the Arkansas Stop Law.

Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson signed a bill that will bring the Idaho Stop Law to the state, allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, and red lights as stop signs, as long as there is no conflicting traffic.

This makes Arkansas just the second state to adopt the full Idaho Stop Law, though Delaware allows riders to treat stops as yield, but not roll through red lights.

Colorado also permits riders to roll stop signs, but leaves it up to local jurisdiction whether or not to actually allow it.

You can probably guess which state was the first to adopt the law.

Meanwhile, Northwest Arkansas is attempting to promote itself as a mountain biking destination, catapulted onto the global stage by winning the 2022 world cyclocross championships.

This new law certainly won’t hurt.

And it’s proof that promoting safe bicycling isn’t a liberal or conservative issue.

Just a human one.

Can’t wait to hear the first person argue that a similar law won’t work here because “This isn’t Arkansas.”

………

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that communities with a high level of bike commuting also rank high on the list of America’s happiest cities.

Which probably explains why Los Angeles checks in at a lowly 82nd.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on. A Colorado Springs CO bike rider suffered three broken ribs and a broken clavicle when someone booby trapped a popular bike trail, stringing a rope across the trail just half an hour after he and a companion had passed through in the opposite direction.

………

Former pro cyclist Phil Gaimon is riding with this year’s Chef’s Cycle for No Kid Hungry; he has just over $1,800 to go to meet his $7,500 fundraising goal.

And hopes to raise an additional $100,000 for No Kid Hungry over the summer.

………

Local

Spectrum News 1 examines the Venice Great Streets project, and the road diet that sent opponents into fits of apoplexy. Then again, they only need to see the words Vision Zero to get the pitchforks and torches out.

Keep Rowena Safe offers their endorsements for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council.

LA Walks introduces new Executive Director John Yi, replacing outgoing ED Emilia Crotty.

Santa Monica will host a Repair Cafe at the Camera Obscura at Palisades Park on Saturday to fix common household items; a bike mechanic from the Santa Monica Bike Center will be on hand, as well.

You’re invited to join an exploratory ride for the upcoming Mission to Mission 626 Gold Streets open streets event this Sunday.

The LACBC hosts their rescheduled tour of historic San Fernando and environs on Sunday as this month’s Sunday Funday Ride.

CiclaValley celebrates spring with a gravel bike ride on Sulphur Spring Road.

State

California considers joining Utah in dropping the legal blood alcohol level from 0.8. to 0.5. Which is probably the most effective way to increase the number of legally drunk drivers on the road.

The 405 Freeway will be shut down overnight between Beach Blvd and Goldenwest Street in Westminster this Saturday as part of a project to replace the Bolsa Ave bridge, eventually providing new bike lanes and sidewalks, as well as two additional lanes.

Caught on video: A thief makes off with a $5,000 bicycle from a Costa Mesa bike shop after giving a fake ID and riding off during a test ride.

The San Diego bike rider seriously injured in a crash with a scooter user was reportedly riding salmon on the boardwalk near Belmont Park; he suffered several fractured vertebrae and two broken ribs.

A Pismo Beach resident filmed a bike chop shop operating openly in the Oceano Dunes Nature Preserve, along with other illegal activities common to homeless encampments.

VeloNews looks forward to next weekend’s Sea Otter Classic in Monterey.

Cupertino is not so impressed with Apple’s proposal to pay for $9.1 million in bike and pedestrian improvements, in lieu of an employee head tax on local businesses.

San Francisco may beat Los Angeles to be the first California city to impose congestion pricing.

National

A new nationwide study shows an average of 25 children are treated in emergency rooms for bicycling injuries every hour; there was no significant difference in the rate of injuries whether or not the children were wearing bike helmets.

Outside offers their picks for the country’s best supported bike rides, including California’s Sierra to the Sea ride this June.

Salsa has issued a recall for their Warbird and Vaya bicycles due to a risk of the frame breaking.

Hundreds of Lime dockless bikeshare bikes ended up stacked in a Reno scrapyard after the company was unable to reach an agreement to continue its contact with the city. Evidently, there are no poor or homeless people up there who could have put the bikes to better use, or kids who could use a new bike.

A Texas bar is being sued for serving a man who got behind the wheel after getting extremely intoxicated and plowed into a group of bicyclists, killing one and seriously injuring another; naturally, the bar’s owners blame the victims for throwing themselves in front of a drunk. Unfortunately, California law prevents bars from being held accountable for the actions of their customers, no matter how drunk they help them get before driving home.

An 87-year old Texas man suffering from macular degeneration showed off his new bike, after a group of kindhearted people pitched in, with the help of a retired bike shop owner, to replace the one he had stolen.

Great idea. Springfield IL will install location markers on its 20 miles of bike paths to help first responders know where to go in an emergency. Docked bikeshare will return to Minneapolis this spring, though not to its twin city.

A Maine man will spend just 48 days behind bars for riding his bike up to a man in a drug store parking lot, threatening him with a knife and demanding money. Note to centralmaine.com — Seriously? Was the thief’s mode of transportation really his most important identifying feature? Would you describe a criminal who drove there as a motorist under the same circumstances?

Gothamist wants to know why the New York Department of Transportation ripped out a popular bike lane, and what happens now.

A Pennsylvania doctor is happy to be back on his bike less than a year after receiving a heart transplant, even if he can’t compete any more.

International

Here’s one more for your bike bucket list — bicycling the streets of Montevideo. I’m in.

Supporters say regular bicycles will survive, despite the competition from ebikes. If only because the growth of electric cars will put pressure on supplies of lithium, cobalt and other rare metals they both depend on for batteries.

London introduces a plan to replace commercial vans with cargo bikes, while hospitals are trying them out to deliver blood and tumor samples in anticipation of a new toxic air tax on motor vehicles to curb pollution.

Caught on video too: A pair of tag-teaming British bike thieves steal a locked bike in five seconds flat.

The Guardian examines how English workers built a 1951 bike tunnel under the Tyne River; it’s scheduled to reopen this year after an extended restoration. Thanks to Jon for the heads-up.

A very forgiving bike-riding woman tells an Irish court she doesn’t want the stop sign-running driver who seriously injured her when he crashed into her bike to go to jail.

Just days after an Aussie study said over half of all drivers think bike riders are less than human, a new study from the UK says over two-thirds think we’re inconsiderate. I’m not sure if that’s progress, or just typical Brit understatement.

Young South Africans use bicycles to bridge the divides left by apartheid.

Life is cheap in Japan, where a 26-year old man walked with probation following a conviction for attempted murder; he got angry during a fight with a relative, and threw a bicycle off the 12th floor of a building, striking a 76-year old woman walking in the courtyard below. Fortunately, she escaped with just a nearly six-inch gash in her forehead.

Finally…

Bike riders hardly ever engage in a one hour and 40 minute stand-off over a parking space. At least we don’t have to worry about deadly kite strings.

And if you’re riding with meth on your bike, despite being released on an earlier meth charge after your case was overturned, don’t run red lights.

And put a damn light on it.

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

59-year old bike rider killed in South LA crash; driver fled in second car

January 12, 2018 / / One comment

Sad news from South LA, where a man in his 60s was killed in a crash with a van driver.

Although there’s some dispute as to what actually happened.

According to KTLA-5, the victim was riding west on 49th Street near Compton Ave around 5 pm when he allegedly fell in front of the van, and was run over by the driver.

The driver, described as a black woman in her 20s, initially stopped to render aid before fleeing the scene with two men in a white vehicle.

Witnesses struggled to free the victim from under the van; he died after being taken to a hospital.

He was identified as 59-year old Thomas Demetrius Adams, a resident of the Central-Alameda neighborhood.

However, in a story that’s not currently online, KNBC-4 reports the driver was exiting a driveway, and failed to see Adams before backing into him.

The station says the woman tried to help Adams at first, but fled the scene with two men who arrived in another vehicle.

Either way, it’s hit-and-run. And an innocent man is dead.

This is the third bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and first in LA County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Thomas Demetrius Adams and all his loved ones.

 

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

Update: Man killed walking his bike across the street in South LA hit-and-run

August 12, 2017 / / 5 comments

Another human being has been murdered by a heartless hit-and-run driver, for the crime of crossing the street.

According to multiple sources, a man was walking his bike across Broadway at 88th Street at 2:30 am when he was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

A witness reports seeing the driver of a Chevy Tahoe plow into the victim while speeding up to go through the light after it turned red. Then flee the scene without slowing down.

The victim, identified only as a possibly being in his late 40s, died at the scene.

A street view shows a staggered intersection at 88th, with a red light and crosswalks at each corner. Broadway has two lanes and a left turn lane in each direction, with a wide parking lane, making it a very broad street to cross.

The City of Los Angeles offers an automatic $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the driver in a fatal hit-and-run. Information can be provided anonymously at LACrimeStoppers.org.

This is the 34th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 15th in Los Angeles County. It’s also the fifth in the City of LA.

Update: The victim has been identified as 57-year old Albert Arnold. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Albert Arnold and all his loved ones.

Category: Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Bike rider killed in South LA collision last week

January 31, 2016 / / One comment

Sometimes bad news never makes the news.

According to the South LA Sheriff’s Department, a bike rider was killed in a collision with a car last Tuesday, Jan. 26th, at the intersection of Ocean Gate Avenue and 132nd Street in unincorporated LA County. The victim was taken to a local hospital.

Unfortunately, no other details are available.

A street view shows a pair of quiet residential streets; matching that up with the photo in the sheriff’s post suggests that the driver was headed west on 132nd.

A comment to the post says the victim was a boy; she also says the driver had the right-of-way, but may have been speeding. However, there’s no way to verify the comment.

This is the 11th bicycling fatality in Southern California, and the third in Los Angeles County. That compares with just two in SoCal this time last year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his family.

Thanks to GhostBikes for the heads-up.

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

14-year old cyclist shot and killed in South L.A.

December 30, 2010 / / One comment

In yet another heartbreaking case of apparent gang violence, a 14-year old kid is murdered while riding his bike in South L.A.

According to the LAPD, he was riding around the intersection of St. Andrews Place and 87th Street around 7:25 pm last night when a gunman shot him from behind. And as usual, it’s the details that are most saddening, as the police note he dropped his bike and attempted to run before collapsing about a block away.

14-Year-Old Boy Shot While Riding His Bicycle

A 14-year-old Black male, has been shot to death while riding his bicycle.

On Wednesday, December 29, 2010, at about 7:25 p.m., the teenage victim was riding his bicycle around Saint Andrews Place and 87th Street. An unknown suspect(s) approached the victim from behind and started shooting at him. The victim was hit by the gunfire, then dropped his bicycle on the street and started to run. He collapsed around the 1800 block of 87th Street.

The suspect(s) ran in an unknown direction. Detectives believe the motive for this crime is gang related, however, there is no suspect description at this time.

Los Angeles City Fire Department personnel responded to the location and transported the victim to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.

Anyone with information is asked to contact LAPD 77th Street Area Criminal Gang and Homicide Division Detectives Eric Crosson or Samuel Arnold at (213) 485-1383. After-hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247). Callers may also text “CRIMES” with a cell phone or log on to www.lapdonline.org and click on Web Tips. When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with “LAPD.” All calls and contacts are anonymous.

Another life wasted. Another young man who will never grow up.

Another future wiped out and another family destroyed in a single moment of insanity.

Thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up.

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