Tag Archive for Tennessee

Driver mows down elite college cycling team, killing two and injuring seven; and Michigan Make-A-Wish killer begs for reduced sentence

August 20, 2026 / / No comments

A beautiful Appalachian highway became a death trap for members of an elite college cycling team yesterday morning.

Two members of the Milligan University cycling team were killed, and seven others injured — four critically — when a 69-year old driver plowed into the whole fucking team.

Sophomores Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers, students at the small Christian liberal arts college, were killed. The small private university is located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, in the northeastern corner of the state.

A CNN report offers photos of the victims, one of whom, 19-year old Haylan Engdahl, graduated high school in Kenosha, Illinois.

And yes, it feels like an extra gut punch to share my last name with one of the victims.

The driver, Newland, North Carolina resident John Benfield, was arrested and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide by recklessness and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle by recklessness. At last report, he had not been released on bond.

It’s not known at this time if he was under the influence.

According to NBC News,

Sam Rogers said he passed by the accident. At first, he saw Carter County sheriff’s vehicles and ambulances arriving, and then he came upon the aftermath.

“I was horrified to see numerous crumpled bikes. There was a person on the road injured and another covered in blood being helped,” Rogers said. “The bicycles were completely destroyed.”

They were only 11 miles from the campus when Benfield somehow managed to take out over 80% of the 11 team members on the training ride.

At least the other seven beat the odds. The speed limit on that section of Tennessee Highway 19 is 50 mph, which means the victims had a 25% chance of survival if the driver was doing the speed limit, according to AAA.

And as we all know, the chances of a driver actually doing the speed limit or less is somewhere south of nil.

One victim has been released from the hospital, and two others were in stable condition.

Below is a statement from the university.

According to CBS News,

“This is an elite cycling team. It’s not a bunch of club guys getting together to ride. They know what they are doing,” said Carter County District Attorney Steven Finney.

Milligan’s men’s cycling team won the team time trial at the USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals in Wisconsin earlier this year.

There’s no word at this time on how the crash occurred, other than it was at or near a curve in the roadway.

This is yet another tragic reminder that a driver’s license allows someone to operate a weapon of mass destruction, which even in the right hands is just one critical error from becoming a ground-hugging ballistic missile.

As for the wrong hands, just go back and read this again.

To argue that something like this should never happen is an obvious understatement. Yet it does, far too frequently.

And I’m sick to death of shedding tears and saying prayers for people I don’t even know.

To wit, see below.

Thanks to Mike and Al for the heads-up.

………

Michigan driver Mandy Marie Benn could have her sentence shortened for the 2022 crash that killed two people and injured three others taking part in a Make-A-Wish bicycle ride.

A jury found Benn guilty on 15 counts, including two counts of 2nd degree murder, possessing prescription drugs, operating while intoxicated causing serious death and reckless driving causing death. She was sentenced to two consecutive 35- to 60-year terms in prison.

According to WLNS 6 News,

The deadly crash happened four years ago on Stage Road in Ronald Township, northeast of Ionia, as Mandy Marie Benn was driving north. She tried to pass a truck, driving into the path of bicyclists participating in a Make-A-Wish bicycle tour. Two cyclists were killed: Edward Erickson, 48, of Ann Arbor, and Michael Salhaney, 57, of Bloomfield Hills. Three others were hurt. The prosecution said evidence showed that Benn had a prescription medication called Lorazepam, a sedative that had not been prescribed to her, in her system at the time of the crash.

Now her attorney is arguing that her sentences should have been applied concurrently, rather than consecutively, and an appeals court has sent it back to the trial judge to explain why the consecutive sentences were imposed.

She’ll have a hearing in November to argue her case.

Personally, I don’t care if her sentences are consecutive, concurrent or inside out as long as she never gets out from behind bars.

………

Somehow, this seems like a good place to mention that I have a new and improved design for one of my earlier T-shirts, which also comes in yellow and blue versions, now that I have a slightly better idea what the hell I’m doing.

Because it’s true, and they do. As too many of us have learned the hard way, myself included.

………

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

A judge ordered work on a Crown Height, New York bike lane halted, after a resident asserted the city had broken the law by failing to notify her, and hadn’t provide equired certifications showing consultations with FDNY, NYPD, Small Business Services and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities; needless to say, the NYDOT begs to differ.

A Canadian website argues that The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent unanimous decision allowing the provincial government to rip out Toronto bike lanes over the objection of city leaders is about much more important issues than just bike lanes. I’m sure that will come as cold comfort to the riders now forced to confront city traffic, or the impatient drivers following behind them.

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

A 59-year old British Columbia man now believes bicyclists should be licensed and insured, after he was struck by another rider while on his own bike, after the second man crashed into him at a signalized crosswalk, leaving him with a broken humerus, a crushed rotator cuff, metal plates, stitches and screws in his shoulder; without a ride home, he posted his situation on Facebook, and a kindhearted stranger picked him up from the hospital, and got his pain meds for him.

………

Local 

Culver City is the first SoCal city to have Amazon deliveries made by e-cargo bikes, even if they look like mini cargo vans.

Long Beach is hosting its sixth annual Long Beach Safe Streets Awareness Week, returning with the theme of “Long Beach Moves Together.” Which is undoubtedly the most times I’ve ever used “Long Beach” in a single sentence.

 

State

California Streetsblog’s Damien Newton talks with Streets Are For Everyone founder Damian Kevitt about the last minute votes pending in the state legislature before it adjourns next week.

Streets For All says your help is needed to keep critical transit funding off the state chopping block.

This is who we share the road with. Heartbreaking news from Huntington Beach, where a 74-year old man in a motorized wheelchair was killed by a driver as he was crossing the street.

This is who we share the road with, part two. San Jose police are looking for a road-raging driver who stabbed two people during an altercation, at an intersection where residents have long complained about speeding drivers. But apparently not stabbing ones, until now. 

 

National

A 17-year old high school senior from Arizona likely set a new record for riders under 18 by finishing the 2,700-mile Tour Divide Race in just 20 days, as well as completing both the Arizona and Colorado Trails, making him the youngest person to finish the Triple Crown of bikepacking. And I was today years old when I learned there’s a Triple Crown of bikepacking. 

A Washington State newspaper patiently explains that bike riders aren’t breaking the law by running stop signs, because the Idaho Stop is legal there — and not stopping is safe than stopping. Would someone please explain that to Gavin Newsom, who’s vetoed it twice? Wait, don’t bother. He’ll either be President Newsom or unemployed in a couple years, anyway. 

A Colorado man claimed he thought he’d hit a deer when police tracked him down three weeks after he hit and killed a man riding a bicycle, and just kept going; he had the car repaired in the meantime, and evidently no one bothered to tell him the damage came from a human being. Call me crazy, but wouldn’t most people at least stop to examine the damage to their car if they thought they’d hit a large animal — let alone see if it was okay?

As if today’s news wasn’t bad enough, the family of a Springfield, Missouri couple filed a lawsuit against the parents of a young child, arguing the couple encountered the kid in the roadway as they were riding their bikes, and had to choose between hitting the child or crashing into an embankment; they chose the embankment, and both suffered catastrophic injuries, with the husband dying two weeks after the crash, and the wife suffering “permanent and disabling” injuries.

Streetsblog celebrates the “one-of-a-kind” bike path on the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, despite — or maybe because of — Trump’s unsuccessful efforts to kill it.

Hoboken, New Jersey risks its perfect Vision Zero record after the city council voted to end a bike lane project a couple months early, even as the mayor pledged to keep it open in the planned October end date.

When is a bike lane not a bike lane? When a Philadelphia funeral home uses the protected bike land to stage funeral processions, while apparently trying to drum up additional business.

 

International

Cycling Electric offers tips on how to choose a cargo bike, as well as loading and riding it safely.

Good for them. A group of English kids faced down a bulldozer to save a 20-year old DIY bike park.

That’s more like it. Reported bike thefts from UK train stations dropped 11%, while the number of thieves charged for stealing bikes from them more than doubled after police reversed a policy of not investigating thefts if the bikes had been there more than two hours.

Must be nice. A South Korean city is automatically insuring all of its more than 900,000 residents against injuries or liability when riding a bicycle or personal mobility devices.

A New Zealand writer places tongue very firmly in cheek, and writes about the harrowing passage of crossing the street outside the prime minister’s former residence, after he complained “to a crowd of no doubt weeping voters” about “a whole bunch of bike lanes…that made it very difficult for me getting from my apartment into the parliamentary precinct,” even though it’s been two years since he’s lived there. I need to send The Spinoff politics writer Lyric Waiwiri-Smith a thank you card, because I really needed that after today’s news.

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch pro Lorena Wiebes responded to the death of 19-year old Welsh cyclist Finlay Tarling as she lined up for the opening stage of the women’s Tour of Britain, saying “Parents shouldn’t fear their children not coming home from a race.” Or a training ride, for that matter. 

EF Education-EasyPost chief Jonathan Vaughters blasted UCI for its focus on “ridiculous little” safety measures, such as minimum handlebar widths, “when they’re unable to keep traffic off the road.”

A Colorado man set a new course record in winning the 53rd Annual Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, shaving two minutes off the previous mark, and moving LA-based former pro Phil Gaimon’s 2022 course record down into third place.

 

Finally…

Call him the Pied Piper of bicyclists. That feeling when you campaign against drug use by popping a 1,400 mile wheelie, convincing everyone else you must be on drugs.

And if you’re attacked by a grizzly, don’t try to whack it with your bike.

I mean, seriously.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

Promoting the 3-foot law on a license plate, muddling the already muddled ebike waters, and Tour de Watts rolls Saturday

April 14, 2026 / / Comments Off on Promoting the 3-foot law on a license plate, muddling the already muddled ebike waters, and Tour de Watts rolls Saturday

Before we get started, I hope you’ll join me in thanking Cohen Law Partners for renewing their ad and their support for another year. 

Looking back, they’ve helped sponsor this site for 13 years now.

It’s their support, and that of our other sponsors, that allows me to keep bringing this site your way every day. 

………

Now that’s more like it.

I saw this Tennessee license plate while riding in my wife’s car in West Hollywood on Sunday. And could only wish we had something like it in California.

A Bicycle Awareness license plate was in the works a few years back, but to the best of my knowledge, it ever got enough pre-orders to go into production, though I’d love to be corrected on that.

But even that wouldn’t directly address the three-foot passing law, or any other specific bike safety laws, like specifying our right to take the lane in most cases.

But we can hope, I guess.

………

WTF?

Patch offers a muddled, barely comprehensible look at the rise of ebikes, focusing primarily on enforcement and injuries, while not only conflating the usual ped-assist bikes and e-motorbikes, but also tossing e-scooters into the mix while they’re at it.

In fact, they offer only one sentence addressing the difference between legal ebikes and illegal e-motos.

Law enforcement and researchers alike caution that rising injury numbers mirror the explosion in ridership. Still, confusion between legal e-bikes and higher-powered “e-motos” continues to complicate enforcement and policy. That confusion has triggered a wave of legislation.

That’s it.

Then there’s this, as they loop older, helmetless e-scooter jockeys into the mix.

Because they can, I guess.

Not all accidents or scofflaws involve children or teens. On Wednesday a 61-year-old Petaluma man traveling on the wrong side of a sidewalk on an electric scooter without a helmet collided with a pedestrian. However, accidents are more common among youth. And a study by the Mineta Institute reported that existing evidence points to a wide variety of people using electric bicycles for transportation, including children, older adults, and people with disabilities. The study’s authors also noted that electric bicycle patients 65-years and older had both the highest hospitalization rate and highest head injury rate.

They also say a part of the problem is a lack of age limits, while failing to mention that California passed a law last year allowing cities to ban ebikes for younger riders, and faster e-mopeds and e-motos require a license.

And that Class 3 ebikes are limited to riders over 16 — as are e-scooters and hoverboards, for that matter.

But the last half of the piece is devoted entirely to a debate over Lamorinda Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s AB 1942, which would require visible licenses for all ebikes, and Encintas State Sen. Catherine Blakespear’s SB 1167, which creates a clear distinction between ebikes and e-motos, while banning deceptive advertising promoting the latter.

In case anyone needs a refresher, here is how ebikes are currently classified under California law.

Meanwhile, a retired lawyer and ebike advocate examines and rates the many ebike bills in the state legislature, reserving the highest praise for Blakespear’s bill, while giving Bauer-Kahan’s the most criticism.

PeopleForBikes had praise for Blakespear’s bill, too.

And rightly so, on both counts.

………

Streetsblog LA’s “This Week in Livable Streets” is always a must read to keep up on all the meetings and events happening each week in safer streets and livable communities, as well as our own wonderful world of bicycles.

This week’s listing is even more indispensable than usual, including:

  • A one-week screening of the safer streets doc Changing Lanes,
  • Input meetings SCAG’s Planning for Main Streets
  • A meeting to discuss Pasadena’s Vision Plan for removing the city’s 710 stub
  • Listening sessions to help shape Metro’s overall governance structure
  • And the annual Tour de Watts

………

You’re kidding, right?

Kentucky’s AAA offers advice to drivers and bicyclists on how to operate safely around one another, which consists only of riding in the same direction as traffic and obeying traffic signals for people on bikes, while drivers should avoid getting too close to bike lanes, and both should minimize distractions.

So apparently, the people in the big, dangerous machines don’t have to obey traffic signals or pass safely if someone on a bike isn’t in a bike lane.

Never mind all the other little things like not speeding, not driving distracted as long as you minimize the distractions, or even swigging some swill before getting behind the wheel.

And bike riders are free to do all kinds of stupid and potentially dangerous things, as long as they don’t ride salmon and stop for red lights.

Got it.

………

Gravel Bike California rides the Redlands Strada Rossa XII(4K).

………

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

A 64-year old Pennsylvania driver tried to blame the victim, despite facing charges for a road rage incident in which he allegedly tried to brake check a kid on a bicycle before intentionally ramming them with his car, saying the crash never would have happened if the kid just stayed in his lane, and hadn’t tried to “purposely upset him.”

Police in Florida went out of their way not to blame an elderly driver for a collision that injured two triathletes, using the most passive language possible by reporting that “The driver and bicyclists ‘did not identify” each other ‘until the crash was unavoidable'” — even though the 74-year old driver right-hooked them on a lane that was supposed to be closed to traffic.

Resistant landowners have held up 117 miles of carfree bikeways across the UK, sometime for decades, forcing advocates to develop a new toolkit to help rural communities find a solution.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton catches up on Joe Linton’s second lawsuit over the city’s efforts to drive a truck through imagined loopholes in Measure HLA, as well as the latest round of denied appeals.

Visit California explains how to get around Los Angeles without a car, but somehow forgets to mention walking or riding a bike. Or even renting a damn scooter, for that matter.

 

State

Bakersfield cops escalated the usual crackdown on bicycle rideouts by making a number of arrests, including kids as young as 14, when a crowd of mostly teens took over a parking lot, then a roadway after police ordered them to disperse.

 

National

Gadget Review correctly notes that a good bike fit matters more than whether you invest in a separate seat for each cheek.

PeopleForBikes has developed a new toolkit to help companies in the bicycle industry improve conditions for bikes in their own backyards. Which is great if the companies care enough to use it; too many have no interest in getting involved, even if it helps their own businesses. 

A pair of Navy vets plan to ride from California to Shanksville, Pennsylvania and on to New York City to mark the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, while benefitting the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. California is a big place, though, so maybe they should mention where they’ll be leaving from. 

There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for anyone who’d drive off and leave a seriously injured kid lying in the road, like this Ohio hit-and-run driver who’s facing his second OVI — the equivalent of a DUI — in ten years after running down a child riding a bicycle.

Princeton University is banning all ebikes from campus, unless you can prove you’re an off-campus commuter.

Heartbreaking news from Spartanburg, South Carolina, where two kids were killed by an alleged drunken, unlicensed driver violating the open container law; the victims, just 9 and 12-years old, were riding their bikes on the sidewalk when the driver jumped the curb.

Great idea. Baton Rouge, Louisiana is holding its 8th Annual 8th Pedaling for Peace Bike Ride this Friday to honor crime victims and promote peace, unity, and positive community engagement through bicycling.

 

International

Before we get started, I hope you’ll join me in thanking Cohen Law Partners for renewing their ad and their support for another year. 

Looking back, they’ve helped sponsor this site for 13 years now. Their support, and that of our other sponsors, is how I can continue to keep bringing this your way every day. 

………

Now that’s more like it.

I saw this Tennessee license plate while riding in my wife’s car in West Hollywood on Sunday. And could only wish we had something like this in California.

A Bicycle Awareness license plate was in the works a few years back, but I don’t think it ever got enough pre-orders to go into production, though I’d love to be corrected on that.

But even that wouldn’t directly address the three-foot passing law, or any other specific bike safety laws, like specifying the right to take the lane.

But we can hope, I guess.

………

WTF?

Patch offers a muddled, barely comprehensible look at the rise of ebikes, while focusing primarily on enforcement and injuries, and conflating not only the usual ped-assist bikes and e-motorbikes, but tossing e-scooters into the mix while they’re at it.

In fact, they offer only one sentence addressing legal ebikes and illegal e-motos.

Law enforcement and researchers alike caution that rising injury numbers mirror the explosion in ridership. Still, confusion between legal e-bikes and higher-powered “e-motos” continues to complicate enforcement and policy. That confusion has triggered a wave of legislation.

That’s it.

Then there’s this, as they loop older, helmetless e-scooter jockeys into the mix.

Because they can, I guess.

Not all accidents or scofflaws involve children or teens. On Wednesday a 61-year-old Petaluma man traveling on the wrong side of a sidewalk on an electric scooter without a helmet collided with a pedestrian. However, accidents are more common among youth. And a study by the Mineta Institute reported that existing evidence points to a wide variety of people using electric bicycles for transportation, including children, older adults, and people with disabilities. The study’s authors also noted that electric bicycle patients 65-years and older had both the highest hospitalization rate and highest head injury rate.

They also say a part of the problem is a lack of age limits, while failing to mention that California passed a law last year allowing cities to ban ebikes for younger riders, and faster ebikes require a license.

And that Class 3 ebikes are limited to riders over 16 — as are e-scooters and hoverboards, for that matter.

But the last half of the piece is devoted entirely to a debate over Lamorinda Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s AB 1942, which would require visible licenses for all ebikes, and Encintas State Sen. Catherine Blakespear’s SB 1167, which would create a clear distinction between ebikes and e-motos, while banning deceptive advertising regarding the latter.

In case anyone needs a refresher, here is how ebikes are currently classified under California law.

Meanwhile, a retired lawyer and ebike advocate examines and rates the many ebike bills in the state legislature, reserving the highest praise for Blakespear’s bill, while giving Bauer-Kahan’s the most criticism.

PeopleForBikes had praise for Blakespear’s bill, too.

And rightly so.

………

Streetsblog’s “This Week in Livable Streets” is always a must read to keep up on all the meetings and events happening each week in safer streets and livable communities, as well as our own world of bicycles.

This week’s listing is even more indispensable than usual, including:

  • A one-week screening of the safer streets doc Changing Lanes,
  • Input meetings SCAG’s Planning for Main Streets
  • A meeting to discuss Pasadena’s Vision Plan for removing the city’s 710 stub
  • Listening sessions to help shape Metro’s overall governance structure
  • And the annual Tour de Watts

………

You’re kidding, right?

Kentucky’s AAA offers advice to drivers and bicyclists on how to operate safely around one another, which consists only of riding in the same direction as traffic and obeying traffic signals for people on bikes, while drivers should avoid getting too close to bike lanes, and both should minimize distractions.

So apparently, the people in the big, dangerous machines don’t have to obey traffic signals or pass safely if someone on a bike isn’t in a bike lane.

Never mind all the other little things like not speeding, not driving distracted as long as you minimize the distractions, and go ahead and swig a few gallons of booze before you drive.

And bike riders are free to do all kinds of stupid and potentially dangerous things, as long as they don’t ride salmon and stop for red lights.

Got it.

………

Gravel Bike California rides the Redlands Strada Rossa XII(4K).

………

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

A 64-year old Pennsylvania driver tried to blame the victim, despite facing charges a road rage incident in which he allegedly tried to brake check a kid on a bicycle before intentionally ramming them with his car, saying the crash never would have happened if the kid just stayed in his lane, and hadn’t tried to “purposely upset him.”

Police in Florida go out of their way not to blame an elderly driver for a collision that injured two triathletes, by using the most passive language possible, reporting that “The driver and bicyclists ‘did not identify” each other ‘until the crash was unavoidable'” — even though the 74-year old driver right hooked them on a lane that was supposed to be closed to traffic.

Resistant landowners have held up 117 miles of carfree bikeways across the UK, sometime for decades, forcing advocates to develop a new toolkit to help rural communities find a solution.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton catches up on Joe Linton’s second lawsuit over the city’s efforts to drive a truck through imagined loopholes in Measure HLA, as well as the latest round of denied appeals.

Visit California explains how to get around Los Angeles without a car, but only focuses on Metro, and forgets to mention you can also walk or take a bike. Or even rent a scooter, for that matter.

 

State

Bakersfield cops escalated the usual crackdown on bicycle rideouts by making a number of arrests, including kids as young as 14, when a crowd of mostly teens took over a parking lot, then a roadway when police ordered them to disperse.

 

National

Gadget Review correctly notes that a good bike fit matters more than whether you invest in a split seat.

PeopleForBikes has developed a new toolkit to help companies in the bicycle industry improve conditions for bikes in their own backyards. Which is great if they care enough to use it; too many bike shops and manufacturers have no interest in getting involved, even though they all should. 

A pair of Navy vets plans to ride from California to Shanksville, Pennsylvania and on to New York City to mark the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, while benefitting the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Although California is a big place, so they might want to mention where they’re leaving from. 

There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for anyone who’d drive off and leave a seriously injured kid lying in the road, like this Ohio hit-and-run driver who’s facing his second OVI — the equivalent of a DUI — in ten years after running down a child riding a bicycle.

Princeton University is banning all ebikes from campus, unless you can prove you’re an off-campus commuter.

Heartbreaking news from Spartanburg, South Carolina, where two kids were killed by an alleged drunken, unlicensed driver with an open container in his car; the victims, just 9 and 12-years old, were riding their bikes on the sidewalk when the driver jumped the curb.

Great idea. Baton Rouge, Louisiana is holding its 8th Annual 8th Pedaling for Peace Bike Ride this Friday to honor crime victims and promote peace, unity, and positive community engagement through bicycling.

 

International

The Guardian offers advice on how to perform basic maintenance on your bike to help fight rising fuel costs.

A town in Norfolk, England is being criticized for spending nearly $700,000 to build a mile-long bike lane, which has supposedly made it less safe by narrowing the street, even though that’s been shown to slow drivers while improving safety for everyone — although bicyclists have a legitimate complaint because haven’t kept delivery drivers from blocking them.

British cycling hero Sir Chris Hoy completed his first ride since his leg was shattered in a “horror crash” while riding his bike in November; Hoy is still suffering from stage 4 prostate cancer.

Swiss bicyclist Adrien Liechti has completed his 10,700 mile ride from Africa’s northernmost point to its southernmost point, crossing 17 countries with nearly 390,000 feet of elevation gain, in just 96 days — despite a two week stay in a Congolese jail.

Aussies are ditching their cars and buying bicycles and ebike subscriptions as gas prices spike, thanks largely to our war with Iran. Cloud, meet tiny little silver lining. 

Former world champ and Olympic medalist Rohan Dennis is criticizing the media for creating a false narrative over the death of his wife, Australian Olympian Melissa Hoskins in 2023, even though he pled guilty to recklessness for driving off as she was clinging to his car, although he was not held criminally responsible.

 

Competitive Cycling

USA Cycling lists the winners on the final day of the national paracycling championships.

The Athletic takes a deep dive into how Wout van Aert overcame a career full of scars to win Paris-Roubaix; van Aert dedicated his win to former teammate and friend Michael Goolaerts, who died of a heart attack during the 2018 race.

The AP correctly notes we’re living in a golden age of cycling, with “weekly brilliance and once-in-a-lifetime rivalries,” thanks to Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard. And you can add Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and the incomparable Marianne Vos, as well.

Australian cyclist Luke Durbridge is calling it a career after 14 years on the pro tour, all with the same team.

L39ION of Los Angeles pro Eder Frayre won the men’s elite Redding Classic general classification, while Lauren Stephens of Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment won the women’s GC title.

 

Finally…

What good’s a bike lane when it’s full of trucks. That feeling when it’s the guy on the bike who’s busted for DUI after a crash.

And pie first, then we ride.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

A town in Norfolk, England is being criticized for spending nearly $700,000 to build a mile-long bike lane, which has supposedly made it less safe by narrowing the street, even though that’s been shown to slow drivers while improving safety for everyone; although bicyclists have a legitimate complaint because the city hasn’t kept delivery drivers from blocking the lane.

British cycling hero Sir Chris Hoy completed his first ride since his leg was shattered in a “horror crash” while riding his bike in November; Hoy is still suffering from stage 4 prostate cancer.

Swiss bicyclist Adrien Liechti has completed his 10,700 mile ride from Africa’s northernmost point to its southernmost point, crossing 17 countries with nearly 390,000 feet of elevation gain in just 96 days — despite a two week stay in a Congolese jail.

Aussies are ditching their cars and buying bicycles and ebike subscriptions as gas prices spike, thanks largely to our war with Iran. Cloud, meet tiny little silver lining. 

 

Competitive Cycling

USA Cycling lists the winners on the final day of the national paracycling championships.

The Athletic takes a deep dive into how Wout Van Aert overcame a career full of scars to win Paris-Roubaix; van Aert dedicated his win to former teammate and friend Michael Goolaerts, who died of a heart attack during the 2018 race.

The AP correctly notes we’re living in a golden age of cycling, with “weekly brilliance and once-in-a-lifetime rivalries,” thanks to Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard. And you can add Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and the incomparable Marianne Vos.

Australian cyclist Luke Durbridge is calling it a career after 14 years on the pro tour, all with the same team.

L39ION of Los Angeles pro Eder Frayre won the men’s elite Redding Classic general classification, while Lauren Stephens of Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment won the women’s GC title.

Former world champ and Olympic medalist Rohan Dennis is criticizing the media for creating a false narrative over the death of his wife, Australian Olympian Melissa Hoskins in 2023, even though he pled guilty to recklessness when he hit the accelerator as she was clinging to his car, though he was not held criminally responsible.

 

Finally…

What good’s a bike lane when it’s full of trucks. That feeling when it’s the guy on the bike who’s busted for DUI after a crash.

And pie first, then we ride.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Smilianska guilty in death of US National Team’s Magnus White, and hit-and-run driver posted online looking for killer

April 7, 2025 / / Comments Off on Smilianska guilty in death of US National Team’s Magnus White, and hit-and-run driver posted online looking for killer
Day 97 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

About damn time. 

For the first time in four full weeks, my wife and I both finally tested negative for Covid over the weekend. 

But I still missed yesterday’s Hollywood Meets Koreatown CicLAvia, as my diabetic body just doesn’t bounce back that fast anymore, and even just walking part of the route seemed like more than I could manage. 

So feel free to let me know how it went. 

And in other health news, I’m now on yet another medication that affects my balance, making my goal of finally getting back on my bike seem even more unlikely. 

Maybe I can find an ebike with a built-in gyroscope to keep me upright. 

Photo from USA Cycling website. 

………

Guilty.

A Boulder, Colorado jury convicted 24-year old Ukrainian immigrant Yeva Smilianska for the 2023 death of US National Team cyclist Magnus White.

Smilianska admitted running the rising 17-year old cyclist down from behind, drifting off the roadway to plow into him at highway speed, after reportedly falling asleep at the wheel.

However, White’s father complained that she didn’t show any remorse or take responsibility until she got on the witness stand, 615 days after the fatal crash.

Prosecutors showed evidence that Smilianska had partied with a co-worker the night before, despite both denying they had been drinking. They also posted a text Smilianska reportedly sent a friend admitting she was drunk at the time of the crash.

The jury convicted Smilianska of reckless vehicular homicide, which in Colorado carries a penalty of two to six years behind bars, after just seven hours of deliberation.

She will be sentence in June.

………

This is who we share the roads — and social media — with.

After a Tennessee man was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike, a 25-year old woman posted on Facebook to say how much the victim would be missed, and begging anyone who knew anything about the crash to come forward, adding that she couldn’t imagine leaving someone on the road to die alone.

You can probably guess what comes next.

Just hours after sharing her last post, she was arrested for the fatal hit-and-run, admitting she was drinking before the crash and drove to another county to get her car fixed in an effort to coverup the crime.

………

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

Houston bicyclists held a funeral for a protected bike lane, after the mayor had it ripped out because it inconvenienced drivers a little bit; a local letter writer says that’s the last straw, and they’re leaving the city because the mayor is making it less safe — although you’ll have to get past the paper’s paywall to read it.

No bias here. Residents of Grantchester, England have taken their fight against a new greenway all the way to London’s Royal Courts of Justice, arguing that the bike lane would ruin one of the UK’s most picturesque villages. Because as we all know, cars don’t ruin anything and only make villages more picturesque, right?

No bias here, either. A sign warns bicyclists using a Dublin bike lane to slow down for school children, posting that the village isn’t a racetrack. Yet no similar sign warns the people in the big, dangerous machines, who are more likely to treat the road like a racetrack, and can cause far more harm when they do.

Not even four-time Tour de France champs are immune from road-raging drivers, as Chris Froome angrily posted the license plate of a French driver he claims tried to intentionally drive into him as he tried to filter past on a training ride.

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

A Hong Kong veterinarian won widespread paise on the Chinese Weibo social media site after springing to action to perform CPR — including mouth-to-snout resuscitation — saving the life of a stray cat after it was struck by a bike rider.

………

Local 

West Hollywood will consider a proposal to paint bike lanes green throughout the city at tonight’s city council meeting.

Burbank is looking for solutions to the rising tide of ebike “incidents.” Once again conflating ped-assist electric bicycles with electric motorcycles and dirt bikes that can travel nearly four times as fast. 

Long Beach will close Willow Street and Santa Fe Ave in West Long Beach to cars on Saturday, May 10th for the next edition of the city’s Beach Streets open streets event.

Speaking of Long Beach, the city will allow e-scooters on the beach bike path, starting next month.

 

State

Your next hoppy pale ale could be developed in collaboration with the San Diego Velodrome.

A Redwood City woman is on the verge of becoming the first person known to have ridden every mile of bikeable roadway and trail in San Mateo County, completing a five-year project to ride all 2,800 miles.

Caltrans has once again delayed a decision on removing the protected bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, as they attempt to strike a balance between the needs of motorists and cyclists. Or rather, whether people in cars will get every lane on both levels of the two-lane bridge, or if bike riders can continue to hold on to one measly little lane. 

Hats off to the Sausalito Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, after every member of the committee resigned in protest because the city rejected a half-million grant to build bike lanes on its main thoroughfare.

Marin County has taken the “unprecedented” step of banning kids under 16 from riding throttle-controlled Class 2 ebikes, as well as requiring anyone of any age riding a Class 2 ebike in unincorporated parts of the county to wear a helmet; the local paper says the new rules make sense. Although while my understanding is they can legally do the first part of that under a bill signed by the governor last year, requiring anyone over 18 to wear a bike helmet exceeds their authority under state law.

 

National

A group of Anchorage residents rode their bicycles through the city wearing signs of support for the people Palestine, in a campaign that began with the Gaza Sunbirds, a group paracyclists who launched a community aid campaign in Gaza.

In what may be the ultimate open streets event, Yellowstone roads once again opened to bicycles over the weekend before cars are allowed in.

An Arkansas organization is recycling used bicycle tires for use as industrial fuel in place of coal, saying burning the recycled rubber chips is more environmentally friendly than allowing them to sit in landfills — although it seems like a far cleaner use is mixing them into paving materials, rather than releasing the carbon to the atmosphere.

Tickets are on sale now for an escorted, five-mile mile bike ride to the Indianapolis 500, benefitting an Indianapolis bicycle advocacy group.

One of the two hit-and-run drivers who fled after killing a St. Louis bike rider was arrested when a tracker placed on her SUV by the dealership placed her at the scene; she admitted to drinking and using marijuana the day of the crash. Two other drivers also hit the victim, but remained at the scene.

 

International

Momentum rates Germany’s most “beloved” long-distance bicycling routes, and says look past Amsterdam for nine underrated international biking destinations. None of which are Los Angeles, of course.

A British Columbia family took matters into their own hands, drafting their own map showing the safest routes for kids biking in their neighborhood, as well as highlighting safety concerns.

Women in the UK report being bullied off the road by motorists, with one woman from Northern Ireland stating that people often shout that she shouldn’t be on the road with her bike, while that rarely happens to her male partner.

A new German study says mountain bike tires are polluting the atmosphere, releasing an average of 3.64 grams of rubber per 60 miles of off-road riding — about a third of the rubber wear from motor vehicles over the same distance. But just imagine if they tried to burn them for fuel. 

Bollywood superstar Salmon Khan is one of us, riding his bicycle and hitting the gym despite suffering a rib injury filming his latest movie.

Tern North America GM and former LACBC board member Steve Boyd says the industry can’t survive Trump’s tariffs, which were raised from zero to 46% for ebikes, and 57% for standard bicycles coming from Vietnam, where Tern is assembled; meanwhile, a Boston professor says tariffs could upend imports from Taiwan, much to the chagrin of builders, golfers and, yes, bicyclists.

Must be nice. A Kiwi writer says she commutes to work by boat and bike every day.

A pair of Aussie university researchers consider the challenge of getting people to shift from private vehicles to walking and biking, arguing that safe infrastructure is critical.

 

Competitive Cycling

Three-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar soloed to victory after attacking on the final climb of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, aka Tour of Flanders, on Sunday, winning the one-day classic for the second time; Belgian world champ Lotte Kopecky became the first woman to win the race three times.

Pogačar said he doesn’t follow social media, calling it “the cancer of our society.” So maybe save the online attacks for someone who cares enough to read it. 

Sad news from Belgium, where two of the 15,000 bicyclists participating in the Ronde van Vlaanderen Gran Fondo died of natural causes during the sportive, one day before the pros took to the course.

 

Finally….

We may have to twisted drivers, but sharing a bike lane with a sick sea lion is a new twist. That feeling when you get busted for speeding on your bike — in a triathlon.

And next time you ride your ebike, maybe leave the hidden stash of drugs and the jagged-edged sword at home.

Just saying.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Morning Links: Playa traffic lane restored, TN cyclist allegedly run down intentionally, and Pendleton closed

July 10, 2017 / / 3 comments

Work began over the weekend to restore a second traffic lane to eastbound Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey.

The modification came one month after the traffic safety projects were installed; they will be re-evaluated after three and six months to determine if additional changes are needed.

Which is exactly what Mike Bonin has been saying all along, even if opponents refuse to believe it.

You can voice your support for the Venice Blvd Great Streets project, as well as the safety projects in Playa del Rey, at the Mar Vista Community Council meeting tomorrow night.

………

The war on bikes goes on.

A cyclist riding on Tennessee’s Natchez Trace Parkway was the victim of a hit-and-run driver who allegedly targeted him on purpose, after driving at another rider a few minutes earlier.

The driver was arrested after police viewed the video, and faces charges of reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of a crash, failure to immediately notify of a crash, and failure to render aid.

They should have included assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder charges. Although those charges would require proof of intent to show that the crash was a deliberate act, and not merely the result of carelessness or distraction.

Meanwhile, the lack of seriousness with which this case — and far too many other bicycle cases —is taken is reflected in the driver’s measly $11,500 bond.

Fortunately, the victim wasn’t seriously injured, and was released from the hospital to recover at home. But says he’s done with bicycling.

Especially since this was his first ride since he was a kid.

Meanwhile, a Calgary man’s neck was sliced when someone strung barbed wire over a bike trail. Intentional acts like this should be investigated as terrorist attacks intended to kill or maim people legally riding their bicycles, rather than mere pranks.

………

If you were planning to ride through Camp Pendleton today, you might want to make other plans.

Thanks to Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious for the heads-up.

………

Great piece from LA’s Phil Gaimon, who answers the question of whether he misses being a pro cyclist. And covers a lot of territory with his answer.

………

Lots of news from the Tour de France today.

An Op-Ed writer in the New York Times says the Tour de France broke his heart when Peter Sagan got the boot.

The Guardian says the Tour missed the chance to honor Tom Simpson by not climbing Mont Ventoux on the 50th anniversary of his amphetamine-fueled death during the race.

A rash of crashes thinned the peloton on Sunday, with Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas among the 12 riders knocked out of the race.

Fabio Aru and Nairo Quintana were accused of poor sportsmanship for attacking when leader Chris Froome changed bikes on Sunday, though they slowed later. America’s last remaining Tour de France winner says they were right to attack, while cyclist Simon Yates called it a dirty move.

Twenty-six–year old Czeck rider Ondrej Clink is competing in the Tour just six months after switching from mountain biking.

And to the surprise of absolutely no one, Bicycling concludes that riders in the Tour de France are pretty damn healthy.

……….

In other racing news,

Bicycling says you should have been watching the Giro Rosa this weekend, where Belgium’s Anna van der Breggen successfully defended her title.

Tragic news, however, as 21-year old Giro rider Claudia Cretti remains in a medically induced coma with a severe brain injury.

USA Cycling finally released guidelines for transgender cyclists.

Two of Lance’s co-defendants have reached a settlement in the federal lawsuit brought by Floyd Landis, allowing them to withdraw from the case.

An Indian physician tells his story as the first rider from his country to finish the Race Across America, aka RAAM.

A Georgia man overcomes homelessness, divorce and getting hit by a sleeping driver to compete in the unsupported Trans Am bike race across the US, to raise funds for disabled athletes.

A Healdsburg man also completed the Trans Am race, despite being hit by a car mirror just hours after passing the scene where another competitor was killed — and five years after surviving throat cancer.

………

Local

The California legislature set aside $98 million to help revitalize the Los Angeles River.

The Metro Bike program celebrates its first birthday averaging just one ride per bike per day, far below more established systems.

Metro unveils designs for the planned Rail-to-River bikeway, which will eventually connect South LA to the LA River on an abandoned railway line; the first phase of the project should break ground next year and be finished in 2019.

A letter writer says La Verne treats bicyclists like a fringe element, favoring road projects that actually discourage bike and pedestrian usage.

Business Insider looks at the brief, only partially completed LA-to-Pasadena elevated toll bikeway, which later formed the basis for the Pasadena Freeway.

No need to go to a bike shop for a repair when Pasadena’s Velofix van will come to you.

Kesha is one of us, as she goes for a beach cruiser ride through Venice. Keri Russell is one of us, too, saying it feels over-the-top decadent to ride her bike in high heels.

Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson went to court to fight 11 bogus tickets for violating CVC 21202(a) written when a sheriff’s deputy pulled over an entire riding club, calling in a half dozen other deputies for backup. And won 11 times, with one acquittal and ten dismissals.

 

State

Orange Coast Magazine looks at OC’s women-only Trail Angels mountain biking club.

The Daily Pilot calls for Newport Beach’s Mariners Mile along PCH to become a bike and pedestrian-friendly destination like Laguna Beach and Corona del Mar.

A new $15.6 million bike path will open in September, providing the only safe bike route through San Diego’s Mission Valley.

San Diego’s BikeSD rebuts attempts by the Hillcrest Business Association to gut the city’s planned Uptown Bikeway. Any business group that fights bike lanes is just shooting themselves in the cash register, since bike lanes usually result in an increase in sales by making the neighborhood more bikeable, walkable and livable.

A pair of bike-riding thieves mugged a woman walking from a San Francisco market, taking her groceries, purse and cell phone.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are offering a $110,000 reward for a bike-riding Oakland arsonist who is suspected of torching four partially completed apartment complexes.

A Marin columnist says trying to encourage bike commuting in semi-rural areas is a lost cause.

 

National

Talk about blaming the victim. An Arizona letter writer calls for banning bikes from a two-lane highway because of angry, impatient drivers who refuse to pass safely. So if it’s the drivers who won’t play nice, wouldn’t it make more sense to ban cars?

Police in a Colorado town plan to patrol by bicycle once a key bridge closes down for repairs, after concluding bikes will be the most efficient way to get around.

Denver drivers can’t seem to grasp that the separated green curb lane with the white bicycle symbols is not a parking lane.

A new study shows Chicago may be bike-friendly, but its auto-centric suburbs aren’t.

A kindhearted Illinois man bought a bicycle for a convenience store clerk who had to walk two hours each way to get to and from work.

Minnesota’s Artcrank celebrates 10 years of exhibiting bicycling art.

New York’s Vision Zero is paying off for pedestrians; bike riders, not so much.

I want to be like her when I grow up. A 69-year old DC woman is planning to ride 1,000 miles in 30 days around Quebec, New Brunswick and Maine; it’s her ninth ride of a week or more, including a 3,100-mile ride from Seattle to Pittsburgh.

 

International

Caught on video: London cops intentionally door a thief riding a bikeshare bike to make an arrest after he rifled through an unlocked SUV. While it may look harmless, dooring should be considered a use of deadly force, just like firing a weapon, because it can have serious consequences.

A British paper says biking to school is the best way to reduce the amount of air pollution your kids are exposed to.

A Welsh man is attempting to become the fittest man in the world by riding a century, rowing and running 10 miles each, and lifting 100 tons of weights, along with thousands of sit-ups, press-ups and squats. All on his 30th birthday — despite being told he’d never live that long after being born with cystic fibrosis.

The first cycle track in Hyderabad, India has been jackhammered to make room for more cars, resulting in a dramatic drop in ridership.

A pair of sisters on the Afghan women’s cycling team gave up on the threats and harassment, and moved to France as refugees to continue training in hopes of making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

You can now order Bollywood star Salman Khan’s Being Human ebikes on Amazon. As long as you live in India.

Conducting bicycle diplomacy in Jerusalem.

Chinese Police busted a gang accused of staging crashes on bikeshare bikes, then blackmailing the drivers to settle on the spot.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to attempt to steal a woman’s purse, try riding a less distinctive bicycle. There’s distracted driving, and then there’s really distracted driving.

And if you’re afraid of hearses, take your last ride on a cargo bike.

 

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