This is who we share the road with.
An 81-year old Orange County man was left fighting for his life when he was run down by a 14-year old kid riding a electric motorcycle, who fled the scene afterwards.
The boy was reportedly riding recklessly when he collided with the victim as the older man was crossing the street. Deputies identified the suspect and arrested him after serving a search warrant at a nearby home in Lake Forest.
The Orange County Sheriffs Department reports he was on a Surron e-motorbike, which is not street legal and can reach speeds up to 68 mph, depending on the model.
And thanks to the OCSD for making it clear the boy on an e-moto, and not a Class 1, 2 or 3 ped-assist ebike.
Although not every media outlet was careful to make that distinction.
Meanwhile, Jalopnik correctly observes that confusing electric motorcycles with ebikes is more than just semantics.
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Tragic news from Texas, where a three-time paracycling world champ and seven-time Paralympic medalist was killed by a driver on Thursday morning.
Fifty-four-year old Dory Sellinger lost his right leg and suffered a TBI in 1993 when a driver suffering a psychotic break intentionally plowed into a group of riders in Alamo, California, after hearing voices telling her to “Get the demons!” Another rider named Vladimir Quinn was killed in that crash.
A crowdfunding campaign to benefit Sellinger’s family has raised nearly $21,000 of the $25,000 goal.
And yeah, I gave to that one.
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A new Chinese study shows that younger urban adults are more car-dependent than previous generations, but could be quicker to with to active transportation if they get better infrastructure.
Although whether the results can be replicated in other car-dependent countries, such as the US, remains to be seen.
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We could be getting bike lanes on Vermont Ave after all.
Although the motion only calls on the city to study adding bike lanes to the project. And as well all know, studying is what this city does best, rather than actually, you know, doing anything.
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Someone please get me this painting for my birthday. Or Cinco de Mayo or Memorial Day, or something.
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Video circulated throughout the Mideast showing the President of Iran casually riding a bike with the governor of Isfahan and other officials over the weekend, appearing unfazed by the American and Israeli attacks.
But it was actually video from October of last year.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. London police are proudly going after the relatively few bicyclists caught running red lights, but only made arrests in 2% bike thefts, and none of the 106 hit-and-runs involving bicyclists last year; the meager 4% of hit-and-run cases resulting in a conviction were the result of drivers turning themselves in.
Once again, a bike trail has apparently been sabotaged, this time in France near the Swiss border, when someone strung a cable across the trail at eye level that knocked two kids off their bicycles while on a family outing.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Maybe it’s the result of a bad translation. Two sets of South Korean parents were arrested and released on charges of child neglect after their middle school kids reportedly threatened people with their “Pixie” bikes, the site says is an abbreviation for “fixed-gear.” Can’t speak for you, but “pixie bike” kinda has a ring to it.
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Local
An op-ed in the new Rupert Murdoch-owned California Post looks at LA’s invention of the phrase “large asphalt repair” rather than repaving, which would trigger legal mandates increasing the costs, concluding that fewer streets will get fixed and we’ll all be worse off as long as “fixing a street means triggering a cascade of costly mandates.”
The ROW DTLA shopping and housing complex is hosting the bike-centered Pedal for the Planet with Playdate this Saturday, with families encouraged to bike between various hands-on sustainability projects.
State
Calbike says AB 2168 currently before the state legislature ensures that we’re getting the most out of California’s Active Transportation Program. Particularly since Governor Newsom keeps insisting on cutting it.
Advocate groups are pushing for a second attempt at a docked bikeshare system in San Diego County, after a previous attempt at both docked and docked bikeshare, as well as e-scooters, failed due to theft, vandalism and improperly parked vehicles.
San Diego’s budget problems are leading to criticism of the city’s daylighting enforcement, since it can’t afford crews to paint curbs leading to intersections.
A writer for Bike Rumor calls this year’s Sea Otter Classic “weird, wacky, unique and a little bit funky,” while admiring the “pretty, unique, and eye-catching custom painted bikes” on display.
Sad news from Sacramento, where a man riding a bicycle was killed by a driver in the North Natomas neighborhood on Friday.
National
The Smithsonian, of all sources, looks at the history of yesterday’s Bicycle Day, 83 years after Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann accidentally ingested LSD before bicycling home from his lab in Basel, Switzerland, taking the first trip on two wheels.
A new study of 28 cities and more than 14,000 neighborhoods tells you what we all already knew, that a connected bike network is key to growing bike ridership.
A Reno, Nevada bike rider shares what he’s found on the side of the road, from gold and diamonds, organic avocados and bullets, to fear of death from passing motorists.
The Colorado legislature passed a new bill that not only bans blocking bike lanes, but also replaces the word “accident” with “crash” in state statutes.
A kindhearted Texas police sergeant was honored for fixing a student’s broken bicycle on the spot.
Rhode Island doubled down on highway building when the Trump administration pulled $25 million in funding that had been set aside to build a bike path; to save the funding, the state diverted it into making mile-long highway a little more pleasant.
International
A Toronto supercar driver murdered a row of bicycles, plowing his orange McLaren through a bike rack and scattering bike parts across the area, before ending up pointed skyward against a wall.
An Edinburgh, Scotland man says he doesn’t feel safe riding his bike in the city anymore, after a group yobs lobbed logs and a bicycle at him as he rode on the bike path.
Dozens of bicyclists descended on Dursley, England over the weekend to honor Danish-born Mikael Pedersen, inventor of the unique Pedersen bicycle, made in the town through 1914.
Off.road.cc offers a list of British bike brands actually made in the UK, for all you bicycle Anglophiles out there.
Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner is one of us, and so is his girlfriend, influencer Laila Hasanovic, as they were spotted on a relaxing bike ride in Monaco.
Taiwan’s Giant bicycle is reportedly on the verge of launching the first ebike powered by a semi-solid-state battery, a step between lithium-ion and solid-state batteries, which could provide more energy for less weight, longer life and less risk of fires.
An Australian Communications professor offers advice on how to get back on your bike after months or years of not riding, including giving up any ideas of what a “cyclist” is supposed to be, and that you’re more likely to ride your bike if you keep it near the door.
Aussie bike shops are being threatened with fines of up to $1.1 million for selling fixies that don’t comply with the country’s consumer safety standards, including having both front and rear brakes.
Competitive Cycling
American pro Matteo Jorgenson won’t be leading the Visma–Lease a Bike into the Ardennes Classics after crashing out of Amstel Gold Race when he broke his collarbone colliding with a competitor on a damp, downhill corner, and going down hard.
Twenty-four-year old Megan Jastrab’s 5th place was the best American finish in Paris-Roubaix in 25 years, since George Hincapie’s 2001 4th place; Greg LeMond also finished fourth in 1985. Hincapie actually finished 2nd in 2005, but his podium finish was voided because of his involvement in the USADA doping scandal.
Finally…
Probably not the best idea to headbutt a cop after swerving a bicycle at multiple women. Your next ebike could be a woodie.
And that feeling when the pickup driver blocking a bike lane isn’t blocking a bike lane because the bike lane isn’t a bike lane, despite the distinct bike lane markings not marking the bike lane.
Got that?
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.