Comments on: Malibu: Sunshine, movie stars, and senseless deaths on PCH

By: Twitter’s Response Beats 911? : blog.Mixergy.com

Twitter’s Response Beats 911? : blog.Mixergy.com — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:22:30 +0000

[…] At about 10:00 last night, when a van swerved into the bike lane on the PCH where I was cycling, I decided to stop riding. I know how dangerous the PCH can be and didn’t want to end up another PCH casualty. […]

By: BikeDenver.org » Why Southern California Isn’t For Cyclists

BikeDenver.org » Why Southern California Isn’t For Cyclists — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 02:38:50 +0000

[…] Malibu: Sunshine, movie stars, and senseless deaths on PCH […]

By: 2 Cyclists Killed on PCH/Malibu CA

2 Cyclists Killed on PCH/Malibu CA — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 21:15:35 +0000

[…] port PostHorrifying (and moving) story.If you ride a road bike you need to read this story.Malibu: Sunshine, Movie Stars, and Senseless Deaths on PCHpacifico555 Reply […]

By: EuroVanClub :: View topic - Crashed Ferrari

EuroVanClub :: View topic - Crashed Ferrari — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 04:56:58 +0000

[…] oast highway.

this strech of highway , is well known and documented for speeding

http://independentsources.com/2005/09/16/malibu/_________________ B […]

By: MQ: September 2005

MQ: September 2005 — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 14:34:48 +0000

[…] lways the chance you’d be shot or robbed if you rode the bike trail.Interesting article on Independent Sources regarding a bicyclist death in Malibu. […]

By: Main Page - Memories of Stas Ionov

Main Page - Memories of Stas Ionov — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 02:00:59 +0000

[…] September 15, 2005 (http://malibutimes.com/articles/2005/09/15/obituaries/obit1.txt) Independent […]

By: Velo Club La Grange: Public Policy

Velo Club La Grange: Public Policy — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 04:42:09 +0000

[…] 17 Malibu: Sunshine, movie stars, and senseless deaths on PCH […]

By: Velo Club La Grange

Velo Club La Grange — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 06:02:28 +0000

[…] 17 Malibu: Sunshine, movie stars, and senseless deaths on PC […]

By: RoadBikeReview Forums - Riding in Malibu/PCH

RoadBikeReview Forums - Riding in Malibu/PCH — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 05:20:42 +0000

[…] o me.

I rode by this exact same spot a few hours after it happened.
Makes me think.

http://independentsources.com/2005/09/16/malibu/

[…]

By: Kiril "The Cycling Dude" Kundurazieff

Kiril "The Cycling Dude" Kundurazieff — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 07:33:13 +0000

To say that I am in awe of, and full of admiration for, the magnificent work that went into the 2 major posts on this subject would be a major understatement.

Bravo!

And Thank You!

By: The Cycling Dude

The Cycling Dude — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 07:29:37 +0000

The dangers of cycling PCH in Malibu

WARNING: This story, and its associated entries, as covered by 4 Blogs, and various newspapers, and other media outlets, is LONG. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT avoid reading the whole collection. If you ride along Pacific Coast Highway ANYWHERE

By: Susan Gans

Susan Gans — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 06:24:36 +0000

Regarding Jody Cherry’s comment “What about contacting bike and bike accessory manufacturers and asking that they take on this task as a national effort?” - - this is EXACTLY the mission of a fantastic organization, Bikes Belong, which is in fact funded primarily by contributions from bicycle retailers and manufacturers - - and its funds are substantial. The chief executives of Trek, Specialized and Shimano, to name just a few, are on its Board. You can read about its grant programs and initiatives at www.bikesbelong.org. I had the privilege of meeting some senior staff members of Bikes Belong at Interbike last week, as well as the Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists, and it was very exciting to hear about the work that they are doing. I urge everyone who wants to do something to make our roads safer for cyclists to join and support advocacy organizations like Bikes Belong, the League of American Bicyclists (www.bikeleague.org), the California Bicycle Coalition, and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

By: Pavel Ionov

Pavel Ionov — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 19:40:17 +0000

Thank you very much Insider for an excellent article and all those who have made such thoughtful contributions here. I am brother of Stas Ionov and would like to say that the family appreciates your efforts more than we can express. It is so heart-warming that so many people care so much. It is a great comfort to us and we know that it meant a lot to Stas to be a part of this wonderful community. Thank you also to all of those who contacted the newspapers about this tragedy and for all other efforts that have done so much to bring attention to the dangerous conditions for cyclists on PCH.

For those who knew Stas, we have created a memorial website, for you to share your memories, thoughts and announcements. Thank you again.

Link to Stas’ website: http://www.stasionov.org/

By: Leslie

Leslie — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 03:25:51 +0000

What annoys me is the arrogance of the LA population. It’s ok to break the law by speeding while cooking, talking on the cell phone, or watching television, but those pesky spandex wearing bike riders shouldn’t be there. Where am I supposed to ride? When you ride on the “bike path” in the South Bay, the joggers and the roller-bladers yell at you. If you ride on the road you get yelled at by the drivers, or worse murdered. Why does LA foster such a hate against cyclists? Didn’t Lance, an American, just win a prestigious event again? I spent a few weeks in Europe training and it amazed me the patience the drivers had there. Traveling on streets far smaller than PCH, cars would willingly wait for a safe time to pass a rider.

Not to encourage the 2 posts that stated the cyclists were at fault for this tragedy (it only shows their arrogance as stated above) but; maybe we should remove the CARS from PCH. Let’s turn it in to a haven for people who would actually enjoy it. Not sure how you can enjoy the view if your watching a DVD, or cooking while driving!

My heart and prayers go to the families of this tragedy and to all of my fellow cyclists!

By: Insider

Insider — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 07:29:46 +0000

Hans is right. I’ve added a few updates to the post noting that the barriers have been removed. I’m not sure who pushed the right buttons but am very happy at the result. I also heard that workers on the site were even sweeping the shoulder of debris. While it is possible that this is required of them to do once the barriers were removed it was a very cool thing to do nonetheless. It is also one less thing to worry about on Saturday’s memorial ride.

By: Hans Laetz

Hans Laetz — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 23:55:35 +0000

The barriers at the accident site were removed today.

There is an article about Monday’s city council meeting:

http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2005/09/29/news/news2.txt

And, there is this letter to the editor in The Malibu Times:

>”Cars, bikes don’t mix

I have a simple suggestion regarding bicycle safety on Pacific Coast Highway. Ban all bicycles. All bicycles! Bikes and cars don’t mix, regardless of what American Civil Liberties Union says or how cute the riders’ outfits are. No doubt we will avoid more than a few auto-on-auto accidents as well. If you really wanted to go for it, you might want to post some immigration officers and get the illegals off the highway, too. That should reduce our traffic by about 50 percent and really make the ACLU crazy, which, in itself, would be worth it.

Bruce Kent “

By: faris

faris — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 23:06:39 +0000

I rode through the area shortly after the accident (while the road was closed and the Sherrifs department were still conducting their investigation) on my way up to pre-ride the Malibu Triathalon course. I was saddened to learn today of the fate of these cyclists especially as a La Granger myself. Farther up the rode that day I had my own scary incident just past Hwy 23 where I was passing a slower cyclist who was weaving a bit on the shoulder and a huge construction vehicle gave me no additional room. I was in the middle of a time trial effort over a small climb. I am sure the driver had to see that he was going to be passing me just as I was overtaking this rider yet he gave me no leeway when all it would have meant was taking his foot of the gas for a second. The Sherrifs Dept and the lawmakers as has been previously mentioned treat us as second class citizens. They are more than happy to apply laws concerning where and how we should ride when it suits them, but really have no concern for our safety. This Malibu crack down is not for our safety, but rather the safety of their jobs and those of the council members who want to show that they are doing something about the issue. As Bill Birrell stated earlier “health benefits: physical, mental and dare I say, spiritual. ” The only thing I can add is that hopefully gas prices will continue to climb and maybe people will see another benefit in cycling. I can live with out my car if it really came to it and maybe that is what pisses so many of these motorists off! It is not the way that I would hope for cycling to emerge as a viable mode of transportation, but I will be happy to see anything that helps make it safer for me to ride my bike on roads I help pay to maintain.

By: Karen Bleifer

Karen Bleifer — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 09:00:28 +0000

Marcus,
There is always a jerk in every bunch so just ignore posts like that. We all know that my brother and Stas did absolutely nothing wrong. What is wrong that people think they can speed on a dangerous street while trying to watch the view, chat on their cell phones, or cook in the back of their trucks and completely ignore the road. Until motorists understand the rights of cyclists, you will always have someone that will make a stupid or uneducated comment.
I can tell you that the bail was upped to $200,000 and I don’t think that he is going anywhere anytime soon.
I also have plans to keep my brother’s memory alive by improving driver education and cycling safety and awareness.
Visit Scott’s website to keep current on what is going on www.scottbleifer.com.
Thank you for your rant it is appreciated by myself and our heartbroken family!
Trying to cope,
KB

By: Jody Cherry

Jody Cherry — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 15:55:13 +0000

While Gary’s comments were upsetting and annoying they could be helpful. How many of us cyclists have non-cycling friends who complain to us about riders? The answer I think would be all. So aside from contacting our elected representatives and the local and state employees that work for us we need to think about a collective campaign of driver education. Hard for small individual bike groups to do effectively - it costs $$ to do something like that. What about contacting bike and bike accessory manufacturers and asking that they take on this task as a national effort? Aside from providing good will within their existing client base they might even expand the number of people on the road (making more money is always a good motivator for businesses) and the more of us there are the more we’ll be seen.

As a side note. I was in an accident with a motorist a few years ago. Not being the most coherent at the time I relied on him to correctly give me his information and you guessed it, it was fake. I had noted his license number and contacted the DMV, they allowed me to file a report but nothing could result from it as the police had not been called to the scene. So my siblings of the saddle, have an accident with a motorist ALWAYS call or have a witness call the police you can protect yourself at least after the fact.

Keep rolling!

By: De Che, Merilin Monrovsk

De Che, Merilin Monrovsk — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 05:52:19 +0000

I am a friend of Stas Ionov (Stas is a short nickname for Stanislav). Let me say one more thing, please. That event is tragic in itself. We know, the rights of cyclists in town areas has always been a contentious issue. I understand there has been just an accident, but that accident, that deadly situation has been constructed by men many days before it occurred. I mean the construction workers, city officials, police department. Please, believe me, I do not shift a blame on anybody, including those two poor guys - Scott and Stas. Stas and I, both of us lived for a long time in a country (USSR) where a human life costs almost nothing. Last Saturday I attended Stas’ funeral in Forest Lawn cemetery on the Hollywood Hills. This happened so late because his parents flew from Russia, it took time. I do not want they left with the similar impression that human life here in California is also cheap. Someone said, tragedy comes to those who indefferently allow them-selves to become tragedy conscious. I do not want an accident like that have become a norm, common statistics of daily chronicles. Thanks.

Here is a photo of Stas from the Boston Independent Almanac “Lebed”:

Photo