Yet another Orange County cycling death, and a long list of bike links for your midweek reading

Word is just crawling in, as an aside to another story, of yet another cyclist succumbing to fatal injuries last week.

Seventy-four year old Orange County resident Lafayette “Lafe” Parkin fell while training for the California Coast Bicycle Classic near the UC Irvine Medical Center on August 31st, resulting in a severe head injury.

His 32-year old son Josh took his father’s place on the tour, finishing the ride on Sunday; his father passed away on Wednesday while his son was filling in for him.

This is the 56th cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in Orange County. Parkin is the second rider to die in a solo fall in Orange County in 2012, and the 13th in the seven-county SoCal region.

My deepest condolences and prayers for Parkin, and all his family and loved ones. And my respect for Josh; I can’t imagine the emotions he went through riding in his father’s name under such difficult circumstances.

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Elly Blue questions the obvious sexism in bicycle marketing; Bicycling’s Fit Chick says that’s one thing she won’t miss about missing this year’s Interbike.

Seriously.

I have nothing against using sex in advertising. But only when there’s a genuine connection with the product being sold.

Otherwise, it’s just annoying. And ineffective.

And stupid.

Meanwhile, Kent’s Bike Blog brilliantly puts the process of bike shopping in perspective.

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Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer suffers some nasty road rash during Sunday’s Malibu Triathlon, crediting his helmet with saving his skull after experiencing the dreaded Wobble of Death.

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I seriously want this jersey, featuring one of the greatest, and sadly least known, cyclists of all time. Last day to order is September 25.

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After last year’s humongous non-event, I’m not falling for the massive hype of Carmageddon II — The Sequel this time.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the relatively car-free streets that should result, as a number of bike rides and events are being planned for the weekend.

First up, Streetsblog and the Bikerowave team up for a night of Streetfilms and fun to benefit C.I.C.L.E. founder Shay Sanchez on Friday the 28th, starting at 7 pm.

Culver City-based Walk ‘n Rollers is hosting a series of rides through the Westside on Saturday, September 29th, with family-friendly routes from eight to 22 miles. The same day, a pair of Valley rides roll along the Orange Line Bike Path and other nearby bikeways.

And Metro and C.I.C.L.E. are joining forces to promote the 2.5 hour, eight-mile Carmageddon Valley Ride on Sunday the 30th.

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The next BPIT meeting is scheduled for 1 – 4 pm on Tuesday, October 2nd. Instructors from the LAPD’s bike patrol patrol Interbike for new gear. Downtown will soon have an ice cream shop churned by bike power. CLR Effect looks at ways to carry your stuff on your bike; Boyonabike considers larger options. Cyclicious encounters the LACBC’s own Bobby Gadda as he makes his way back down the coast on his tallbike. Gary considers walk and bikenomics from last week’s Pro Walk/Pro Bike in Long Beach. The Bike League declares last week’s National Women’s Bicycling Summit, part of Pro Walk/Pro Bike, a huge success; they aren’t the only ones.

Fallen Newport Beach cyclist Sarah Leaf is described by friends as funny, inspirational and extraordinary. Maybe a selfish driver who forced a 4th grader out of a crosswalk isn’t such a petty complaint after all. Should be a great party next week, as BikeSD officially launches as a citywide bike advocacy group; any organization formed by Sam Ollinger has my unqualified support — and hopefully, yours, as well. San Diego could have a bike share program of their own as soon as next spring; L.A., Irvine and Long Beach provider Bike Nation is one of the contenders. An apparently suicidal cyclist reportedly rides his bike into the path of a Redlands driver. Evidently they get it in NorCal, as a Red Bluff man is sentenced to 11 years in prison for killing a 73-year old cyclist while driving under the influence; I just wish courts down here placed that much value on a human life. Then again, not so much in Lompoc, either.

CNN considers why young Americans are bypassing the automotive right of passage — without once mentioning the word bike. Bicycling interviews bicycling actor Patrick Dempsey. An Arizona writer looks at life differently after surviving a bicycling collision. The Colorado Highway Patrol is looking for a driver who honked behind two cyclists for several minutes rather than passing. A board member of advocacy group BikeTexas is run down from behind and killed while riding her bike. Both sides in a Chattanooga debate agree that cyclists need to do our part to avoid collisions; make that all three sides, as I concur. How to conquer your fears as a beginning cyclist. Boston Daily asks why so many cyclists are dying on the streets, suggesting a summer-long truce between bike riders and motorists has ended. New York decides safety is more important than speed for delivery riders. The New York Daily News says it’s time to rethink bike share if it’s going to succeed. Brooklyn cyclists complain about the latest obstacles blocking bike lanes. I love this turn of the century postcard. Philadelphia finds more riders mean fewer collisions — not accidents, thank you. A Florida man is under arrest for faking a hit-and-run collision; his story was done in by one of those seemingly ubiquitous security cameras. A beginner’s guide to not dying while biking in the Everglades.

Why do so many people love cycling but hate cyclists? Intentionally run down a Brit cyclist, get a fine of less than $570. A mother finds her 27-year old cyclist son dead on the side of the road after he doesn’t return home from a ride. Olympic cyclists call for making British roads safer for bikes. A Scott writer calls for investing in bikeways while making cyclists liable for all the harm we do; wait, it is bike riders who kill tens of thousands of innocent people on roadways around the world every year, right? A Welsh writer complains about cyclists travelling at abnormal speeds while wearing supersonic helmets; bet I could have found one of those at Interbike. Retired Olympic gold medalist Alexandre Vinokourov auctions his bike for nearly a quarter million dollars, with the money going to charity. Police take mandatory helmet laws to the extreme, as a retired cyclist dies in a tussle with officers over his lack of a head gear.

Finally, no, this isn’t from The Onion — the Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills really is pursuing a bike share program. No, really.

Even if they can’t manage to paint a single inch of bike lane in the entire city.

Update: 2012 SoCal bike deaths reach an even 50, as 52-year old Moorpark cyclist killed Thursday

This is not the story I wanted to write today.

I’d promised you a contest for the holiday weekend, sponsored by Clif Mojo bars to celebrate national Trail Mix Day.

But that will have to wait, as I’ve just gotten word of a fatal bicycling collision that took the life of a Moorpark man on Thursday.

According to Moorpark Patch, the victim, identified only as a 52-year old man pending notification of next-of-kin, was riding south on Moorpark Avenue at Poindexter Ave at around 9:55 am when he was struck by a car traveling in the same direction.

Details are sparse. It could have been a hit-from-behind collision; however, the fact that it occurred in the intersection would suggest a possible right hook. Or the rider could have been attempting to make a left turn, and either crossed into the driver’s path, or been struck when the driver failed to see him.

The victim was taken to Los Robles Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The 44-year old driver, a resident of Sylmar, remained at the scene.

It’s sad that hit-and-run has become so common that something like that even needs to be mentioned.

This is the 50th fatal bike collision in Southern California this year, and the third in Ventura County, compared to four in the county last year. And eight months into the year, it puts us on a pace for 75 fatalities in the seven-county SoCal region this year, not counting shooting victims, compared to 71 in 2011.

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

Out of respect for the victim, I’ll wait until later this evening to put the contest online. I hope you’ll come back then or over the weekend; especially after news like this, we all need to have a little fun.

Update: The Ventura County Star has identified the victim as 52-year old Moorpark resident Kenneth Guthrie, who was hit by a car driven by 44-year old Jaime Tijero Ibarra of Sylmar. Still no word on how the collision occurred; Ibarra was not cited at the scene, and the case remains under investigation. 

Update — Rancho Cucamonga cyclist latest victim of a fatal hit-and-run; 2nd in last two months

KCBS-2 reports that yet another cyclist has been killed in a Southern California hit-and-run.

According to the station, 25-year old Michael Vega was riding west on Foothill Blvd near Ramona Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga around 6:40 pm Tuesday, when he was run down from behind by a white truck, which fled the scene.

A fire captain reports the impact was hard enough to knock Vega out of his shoes. The station also notes that Vega was wearing a helmet, but the force of impact was too great for it to be of benefit.

And yet a police spokesperson suggests that unless the driver was drunk — which will probably never be determined, since he fled the scene — it will amount to nothing more than a simple traffic accident.

Thanks for having our back, dude.

Hint to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department — killing another human being with a motor vehicle is a serious matter. Or at least, it should be.

Whether or not the driver was drunk.

KCBS reports the witnesses tried to comfort Vega where they found him crumpled in the gutter; he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Police are looking for a white work truck with a ladder or lumber rack in the back. Anyone with information should contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department’s Rancho Cucamonga station at 800/477-2800.

Vega is the 49th cyclist to die on Southern California streets this year, excluding gunshot victims, and the eighth in San Bernardino County.

This is also the third cycling death in Rancho Cucamonga — a frighteningly high total for a city of less than 168,000 — and the second fatal hit-and-run involving a cyclist in that city in just the last two months.

My prayers and deepest sympathy to his family and loved ones.

Update: Michael of CLR Effect offers his thoughts, which are always insightful and always worth reading, including this:

Almost as troubling is the initial reaction from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. I don’t normally like to knock law enforcement, they are only charged with enforcing existing laws, not making them, not prosecuting them. But tied into the process of enforcement is the act of interpretation. When a department spokesperson says “unless the driver is intoxicated, nothing other than having a traffic accident taken is going to come out of this” has to leave me wondering what ever happened to the serve and protect code (granted that is the LAPD motto, but have always believed it should apply to all in the public service sector). 

Update 2: The Press-Enterprise says Vega was a resident of Norco, and died at the hospital less than an hour after being hit.

Update 3: KCBS offers a good follow-up on their original story, noting a ghost bike has already been installed, and that Vega worked at the Apple Store in Victoria Gardens. 

He was on his way to his girlfriend’s home when he was killed; his mother thanked those who comforted her son as he lay dying, and said she saw a double rainbow that night, taking a picture of it at the same time he passed away.

Update 4: An arrest has been made in this case. 

Teenage Moreno Valley cyclist killed Monday

Somehow I missed this story yesterday; thankfully, Witch on a Bicycle didn’t.

The Press-Enterprise and Southwest Riverside News Network report that a 16-year old cyclist was killed in Moreno Valley earlier this week.

According to the SRNN, Moreno Valley resident Stephen Espinoza was hit by a van while riding at the intersection of Graham Street and Zoe Drive around 2:30 pm Monday; the Press-Enterprise reports that he hit the van, instead.

He suffered severe head injuries, and was pronounced dead at the scene. As usual, the driver was uninjured.

No word on how the collision occurred.

This is the 48th cycling fatality in Southern California so far this year, and the ninth in Riverside County; that compares with 12 bike fatalities in the county last year.

My prayers and sympathy for Espinoza and his family and loved ones.

Man walking killed while walking bicycle in Lytle Creek; 12th bike-related fatality this month

And then there were 12.

In what is by far the worst month in memory for Southern California cyclists, an even dozen cyclists have now died on our streets this month alone.

According to the Press Enterprise, 42-year old Dondi Allen Quimby was hit by a car while walking his bicycle on the 200 block of Lytle Creek Road in Lytle Creek just before 1 am Sunday.

Quimby, who is described as a transient, was walking with his girlfriend along the shoulder of the road when he was hit by a 1997 Ford Thunderbird driven by Rancho Cucamonga resident Matthew Eldridge. He died at the scene; no word on whether the unidentified girlfriend was injured.

The 20-year old Eldridge was arrested about an hour later for investigation of felony drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter. And yet a spokesman for the CHP seems to be making the case for the driver’s defense, saying the location was very dark with a narrow shoulder.

Of course, if the driver was using headlights — which he certainly should have been doing at 1 am — darkness should have been irrelevant. And even a narrow shoulder suggests that a sober driver should have been able to see and avoid Quimby.

The San Bernardino County Coroner’s office is asking the public’s help in locating any of Quimby’s family members; anyone with information is urged to contact the Coroner’s Division at 909-387-2978.

This is the 41st bicycle-related fatality in Southern California so far this year — nearly one third of those this month alone. And it’s the seventh death in the last seven months in San Bernardino County, a total that equals all the cycling deaths in the county in 2010, the last year on record.

Update: Indian Wells cyclist dies from natural causes, rather than solo fall

The bad news just keeps on coming.

An Indian Wells man has become the latest bike rider to die in what has become a truly horrible month for SoCal cyclists.

According to mydessert.com, the rider, described only as a man in his early 60s, was riding east on Miles Avenue near Washington Street when he apparently struck a curb and fell, suffering critical injuries. He died sometime later at a local hospital.

A sheriff’s deputy suggests that he may have had some sort of medical condition that caused him to fall; however, no details were released and cause of death is being withheld pending an autopsy and toxicology reports.

This is the 40th cycling fatality in Southern California this year, the sixth in Riverside County and the second in the past two months in the small community of Indian Wells. It’s also the 11th bike-related death in this very tragic month of July; over a quarter of this year’s fatalities have occurred this month.

And we still have two weeks to go.

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

Update: The victim has been identified as 61-year old Gordon West of La Quinta. According to the coroner’s office, his death was due to natural causes, rather than a fall.

Update: Cyclist killed in Indian Wells DUI was bi-coastal neurologist and Lyme Disease specialist

A 52-year old cyclist was killed by an alleged drunk driver in Indian Wells Saturday night.

According to numerous reports, Palm Desert resident Gerald Weiss was riding westbound on Fred Waring Drive south of Cook Street around 9:45 pm when he was hit from behind by a car driven by 24-year old Christopher Eugene Stocman of La Quinta.

Stocman, who stayed at the scene, was arrested on suspicion of DUI and vehicular manslaughter.

This is the 21st cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth already this year in Riverside County.

No further information is available at this time. Anyone with information is urged to call the Indian Wells Police Department Traffic Bureau at 760/836-1600.

This is the 21st cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy to Weiss and his family.

Update: According to a comment from Tracy Will, Gerald Weiss was a leading neurologist specializing in the treatment of Lyme Disease.

Dr. Gerald Weiss was a world renowned neurologist and Lyme Disease specialist. People traveled all over the country to seek his expertise. Not only does he leave behind many grieving patients, he leaves behind two young sons and a wife. This is an unimaginable tragedy. I am shattered at this news and in total shock.

A Google search reveals a neurologist named Gerald Brett Weiss M.D. with a practice in La Quinta — less than five miles from the site where Weiss was killed — as well as a practice in Norwalk CT. Dr. Weiss as on the staff of JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio, with a former specialty in Lyme Disease.

Unfortunately, there has been no follow-up from the local press providing any additional information on Dr. Weiss or how the collision occurred. Maybe they’ll get around to it now that the weekend is over.

Bakersfield bike racer dies in Sunday stage race crash; Culver City gets an honorable mention

Bad news from Bakersfield, as top local bike racer Suzanne Rivera was killed in a Mariposa County stage race on Sunday.

Apparently, she rear-ended a support van that had stopped on the shoulder during a steep downhill. Rivera will be honored on Wednesday’s Bakersfield Ride of Silence.

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The League of American Bicyclists releases their latest list of new bike-friendly cities; congratulations to Culver City for getting an honorable mention.

And nice work to the hard work put in by LACBC-affiliate Culver City Bicycle Coalition to help make it possible. Thanks to CCBC member Steve Herbert for the heads-up.

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Peter Sagan keeps the leader’s jersey in the Amgen Tour of California, despite a spill and a flat; Cyclelicious captures his shadow crossing the finish line. Maybe Levi Leipheimer is just playing possum. And Sunday’s final stage finish at L.A. Live may lead to Sportsageddon as the Kings, Dodgers, Clippers and the ToC collide in DTLA.

Can we just call a time out on all the blank-ageddons for awhile?

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There are plenty of people who live car free in L.A. every day, so why plan a day around it? LADOT is hiring a Pedestrian Coordinator as well as an Assistant Pedestrian Coordinator. The 10 busiest bike intersections in L.A.; I ride four of them on a regular basis. Better Bike recaps the meeting that lead Beverly Hill’s Traffic & Parking Commission to reject two of the city’s five proposed underwhelming bike pilot projects. As if Bike to Work Day wasn’t enough, you can join in on Bike from Work happy hours, as well. A 50-something cyclist is injured after getting rear-ended by a car in Pasadena. A recap of last weekend’s Montrose Historical Bike Ride. New bike racks in Redondo Beach thanks to the Chamber of Commerce.

The California Department of Transportation offers advice on bike safety for Bike Week. San Diego endorses Scott Peters for Congress. A four-year old Palm Desert boy is hit by a red light running schmuck truck driver while crossing the street in the crosswalk with his mom. Santa Maria police question whether a cyclist was really hit by a car, as he claims. How cars should turn right when bikes are around.

The Sierra Club, which hasn’t always support cycling, seems to be coming around. AAA endorses a more bike-friendly America; does that mean they’ll stop fighting bike safety measures in California? Bike lawyer Bob Mionske looks at drunk biking laws. Walk Score rates the most bikeable cities; maybe L.A. can get a bike score of its own soon. Maybe they need an L.A.-style anti-harassment ordinance in my old hometown. Then again, maybe bike education would make for safer cycling and driving. Turns out riding a bike is the fastest way to get around Boston. New York uses liquor licenses to fight back again scofflaw bike delivery people.

Turns out that bike-unfriendly Toronto is even less bikeable than Saskatoon. A British motoring organization claims over half of all cyclists run red lights; turns out it ain’t necessarily so once you get the facts. An Aussie city considers a proposal to waive the country’s mandatory helmet law for riders on separated bikeways.

Finally, Alabama film maker Katie Rogers talks about her in-process film about going carless in L.A., which just got funded on Kickstarter today. And if this car runs you over, at least you’ll know why.

Update: Whittier cyclist killed when 78-year old driver backs over her in parking lot

“She looked real happy this morning.”

That’s how her stepmother described 26-year old Rosie Manzanares on the last day of her life. Just a few hours later, she lay dead in a parking lot, victim of a 78-year old driver who lost control of her car after visiting the hairdresser.

The collision occurred around 1:30 pm in the parking lot behind Celebrity Burgers, 11270 Whittier Blvd in Whittier.

According to the L.A. Times, the Toyota driven by Angelica Cuevas accelerated unexpectedly as she was backing out of her parking space, hitting Manzanares before coming to a stop on top of her.

No explanation is given for why the car accelerated; maybe the car malfunctioned, or maybe Cuevas panicked and hit the gas instead of the brake after seeing Manzanares behind her.

Either way, an innocent woman is dead. And an older woman has to spend the last years of her life knowing she took another.

It’s likely to be a very long time before either family — the driver’s or the victim’s — will have another happy morning.

This is the 11th cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Los Angeles County — both of which occurred in Whittier.

My heart and prayers go out to Rosie, and her family and loved ones.

Update: According to the Whittier Daily News, Cuevas had stopped her car halfway out of the parking space, then inexplicably accelerated as Manzanares rode behind her; Manzanares was pronounced dead at the scene.

Relatives say she had borrowed a bike in order to return a bracelet. Her father said she was getting help for a bipolar condition, and was in the process of straightening her life out.

Now she’ll never have the chance.

Distracted killer of an 8-year old OC cyclist walks without a single day in jail

I really don’t want to write about this.

I’ve been putting it off since a pair of noontime emails alerted me to a plea agreement in the case of Anita Sue Cherry, the driver charged in the death of 8-year old Andrew Brumback in January of last year.

AJ, as his family and friends called him, was hit by Cherry’s car as he rode his bike to school in January of 2011. He was riding shortly ahead of his sister when he crossed into the Westminster intersection; Cherry initially claimed he “came out of nowhere,” police later concluded that she had been looking down — at what, they never said — when the impact occurred.

In other words, she broke the most basic rule of driver by failing to maintain awareness of what was in the road directly in front of her.

And that single moment of distraction took the life of an innocent boy.

Fortunately, his sister did not see the collision, though what she did see afterward must have been almost as devastating.

It certainly was for the owner of the house in front where he died; you can still see the ghost bike and roadside memorial that sprang up afterwards in the Google Street view photo. And I’m told the Westminster Little League players will wear his initials on a patch this season.

Cherry, who stayed at the scene, was reportedly distraught at taking AJ’s life.

Maybe that’s why the D.A. seems to have been so lenient in this case, offering her a plea deal without a single day behind bars.

She had been charged with a single misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, with a maximum sentence of one year in jail; instead, she pled guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving.

With a limp wrist slap sentence of three years informal probation and 300 hours of community service.

Frankly, I don’t know what to think.

Sending her to jail won’t bring AJ back. And it won’t ease the pain of his family, as shown by the witness statements quoted by the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

At the sentencing today, Brumback’s mother and brother gave victim impact statements to the court. His mother Debbie said, in part, “The loss of AJ has severely wounded our family and deeply injured a community of adults and children who knew him as a friend. I have had a year to put this letter together and am still at a loss for words. How do I continue to move each day without my little boy? My daughter Anna still will not open up and talk about the incident. She was blaming herself for a long time and is longing for her brother and best friend. My son Aaron won’t admit to new friends that he even had a brother because he would have to explain what happened. My husband Bill misses his ‘little buddy’ that used to watch all sports events with him. At school, AJ’s friends tell me how much they miss him. His best friend, Ryan, has been in therapy and hurts to find a friend to play with and share his secrets with. He misses the love of his friend. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss my little AJ.”

If Cherry has any conscience whatsoever, having to wake up every morning with the weight of AJ’s death on her shoulders is a far greater penalty than any jail sentence could have been.

On the other hand, letting her walk feels like a failure of the judicial system.

It’s a perfect example of why children and cyclists and pedestrians continue to die on our streets, when the judicial system refuses to hold drivers accountable for their actions or the lives they take.

Maybe this was a fair outcome.

Maybe not. It certainly doesn’t seem like it to me.

I’ve been angry and depressed all day since I got the news. And more committed than ever to support Safe Routes to School.

Because eight-year olds shouldn’t die on their way to class.

And AJ deserved better.