CALIFORNIA BICYCLE NEWS AND CYCLING SAFETY TIPS BLOG

Cyclist Paralyzed After Drunk Driver Crashes Into Group Ride

Several members of the San Diego Bicycle Club were seriously injured after a wrong-way driver collided with a group of cyclists on Fiesta Island. On Tuesday, August 12, the club was finishing their weekly ride when a car traveling against traffic plowed into the group head-on. The impact injured at least 10 cyclists and left one rider paralyzed. A 49-year-old father of two was riding close to the front of the group when he saw the car heading their way. He managed to push at least one cyclist out of the way but suffered critical injuries in the process. The La Jolla father was the most seriously injured of all the cyclists, suffering two punctured lungs, the loss of one kidney, a lacerated spleen and six broken vertebras. Doctors at UCSD Hillcrest Hospital are focusing on healing the man’s lungs so he can undergo spinal surgery, but they believe the…
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Cyclists Could Cross San Diego Bay on Newly Designed Water Bikes

For years, cyclists have been unable to enjoy the spectacular views from the San Diego-Coronado Bridge due to a lack of bike lanes. The city temporarily closes one lane to accommodate cyclists during San Diego’s “Bike the Bay” event, but the bridge is closed to cyclists for the rest of the year. The city is currently researching the possibility of a suspended cycling and pedestrian tube running alongside the bridge, but one man says there may be a simpler (and less expensive) solution. Cyclists may soon be able to pedal across San Diego Bay on a specially designed water bike, thanks to one determined designer from Northern California. The invention could allow cyclists to cross the bay without the need for costly bridge construction. The bike’s revolutionary design glides across the water on 11-foot pontoons, and the pedals propel the bike forward without an engine. It can travel up to…
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Artist Holds Bicycle Rally in Support of Community Update

San Diego artist Alexander Harman believes cycling can be a political act to promote civic engagement. To demonstrate, he plans to use hundreds of bicyclists to help him protest the overturning of the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update. The Barrio Update was a legal measure that would have installed a five-block-long buffer zone between residential and industrial areas in Barrio Logan. The plan would have allowed “community and neighborhood commercial [interests]” to use the area, but no housing would be there. Neighborhood residents believe the distance would help reduce the health risks of residents living close to shipbuilding yards, some of which mold plastic or paint car parts. Shipbuilding interests disagreed, however. Tighter ordinances from a nearby residential area could force nearby shipyards to change their hours or operating procedures,which could risk “billions of dollars of income and thousands of high-paying, good jobs,” critics argued. They also claimed the residents’…
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