I enjoy cycling VERY much...most of the time. It helps me stay somewhat sane. It helps me feel healthy & happy. It helps me avoid gaining weight. And so far it hasn't killed me. That last "benefit" fell through for a couple local cyclists along the coast here in San Diego county. Why? Because drivers forget these three simple driving safety rules:
- Don't drink & drive
- Watch for pedestrians & cyclists
- Drive at speeds that allow you to react (in time) to keep those pedestrians & cyclists out from under your vehicle
This new ghost bike on Coast Highway in front of Revolution Bike Shop marks where my fellow SDBC ride leader Rod Stubbs was riding with his friend Allen Hunter in Solana Beach when a drunk, hit-and-run incident killed Allen on June 22, 2021.
Two cyclists were recently mowed down in a 2-day period (June 22nd & 23rd) on a stretch of the California Highway 1 (aka "Coast Highway") that I've ridden over a thousand times since we moved to California in 1987. Encinitas (which means "I hate cyclists" in Spanish) is the worst of all coastal cities in terms of accommodating cyclists, guided by "Worst Mayor Ever" award recipient Catherine Blakespear. Ms. Brakesmear removed the dedicated bike lane on the Coast Highway (in the Cardiff area of Encinitas, which I had felt safe in for decades) and replaced it with two scarier alternatives...a "sharrows" lane (which drivers don't give a flying fart about, occasionally honking at cyclists despite the sharrow markings) and a narrow, confined path between parked cars and the beach affectionately known as the "meat grinder," where toddlers, strollers, pedestrians (despite the "bike lane" markings) and cyclists can mix it up to see what happens. The mayor and City Council of Encinitas are obviously a bunch of idiots. They could have done so much better by just copying what neighboring Carlsbad did along the coast: Park the cars against the damn curb and give the bike lane a little painted buffer on both sides of the lane. There's nowhere along the coast I feel safer than there.
Amazingly, neither of these two most recent deaths occurred in Encinitas. The first one happened in a sharrows lane in Solana Beach, and the second one happened in San Diego next to UCSD. I didn't know either victim personally, but these haunt me because I continue to ride in this path of death dominated by speeding, distracted drivers. One part of the Solana Beach story that hit me super hard is that the victim was riding with my fellow SDBC ride leader Rod Stubbs. When Rod shared his story about dragging his friend's limp body out from under the pickup before the driver sped away was heart-wrenching. Then, when he later said he was quitting cycling—his life passion—after seeing his friend get murdered, I was blown away again. He's not afraid of dying, but as his wife pointed out, she'd be the one left trying to support his family if he died. Fortunately my wife will never experience poverty whether I live or die, but I sure would like to hang around for a while anyway. And I sure don't want to quit cycling. There are way too many POWERFUL, positive aspects to it.
Amazingly, neither of these two most recent deaths occurred in Encinitas. The first one happened in a sharrows lane in Solana Beach, and the second one happened in San Diego next to UCSD. I didn't know either victim personally, but these haunt me because I continue to ride in this path of death dominated by speeding, distracted drivers. One part of the Solana Beach story that hit me super hard is that the victim was riding with my fellow SDBC ride leader Rod Stubbs. When Rod shared his story about dragging his friend's limp body out from under the pickup before the driver sped away was heart-wrenching. Then, when he later said he was quitting cycling—his life passion—after seeing his friend get murdered, I was blown away again. He's not afraid of dying, but as his wife pointed out, she'd be the one left trying to support his family if he died. Fortunately my wife will never experience poverty whether I live or die, but I sure would like to hang around for a while anyway. And I sure don't want to quit cycling. There are way too many POWERFUL, positive aspects to it.
A small memorial to the young mother killed on June 23rd.
The second fatal "accident" involved a 74-year-old man who was zipping along North Torrey Pines road on June 23rd in his Mercedes, just fast enough to kill 34-year-old cyclist and Salk scientist Swati Tyagi on the spot. Her 11-month-old son Miransh will never really get to know his mom because somebody wasn't watching the road very carefully. Yes, there's a curve in the road there. Yes, she was trying to change lanes. No, the driver was not driving at a safe speed. Yes, he should be held accountable.
Will he be held accountable? Not with a good lawyer. And the last I heard about the hit-and-run driver who killed Rod's friend was that "no charges have been filed." WTF? California isn't the worst state in the union when it comes to laws governing traffic safety and the killing of pedestrians or cyclists by drivers. But seriously, WTF? It's no secret that if you want to murder someone and get away with it, all you need to do is get behind the wheel then go find them on the road or a nearby sidewalk. Just look at the history of fatal cyclist and pedestrian "accidents" and the final sentencing (or lack thereof). Something needs to change, and I'm not just talking about leadership in the City of Encinitas.
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Will he be held accountable? Not with a good lawyer. And the last I heard about the hit-and-run driver who killed Rod's friend was that "no charges have been filed." WTF? California isn't the worst state in the union when it comes to laws governing traffic safety and the killing of pedestrians or cyclists by drivers. But seriously, WTF? It's no secret that if you want to murder someone and get away with it, all you need to do is get behind the wheel then go find them on the road or a nearby sidewalk. Just look at the history of fatal cyclist and pedestrian "accidents" and the final sentencing (or lack thereof). Something needs to change, and I'm not just talking about leadership in the City of Encinitas.
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