Sometimes we suffer self-inflicted wounds, the Feed

There were a lot of wrecks where the cyclist was most definitely at fault today. Well maybe “a lot” overstates the situation but there were “too many”. Any number of wrecks requiring transport to a level I trauma center is too many regardless of who is at fault, but there were some single vehicle wrecks and bike v car wrecks that should not have happened.

Getting to one of those wrecks that should not have happened, a recent KS transplant gets it wrong in fresh chip seal. Bicyclist flown to KU Hospital after accident southwest of Lawrence I don’t like chip seal even after it has stabilized, because around here the aggregate is too coarse and both vibrates the rider too much and also slows the bicycle down by several MPH. Of my 2 regularly used bikes one is a LWB dual big wheel ‘bent, the Stratus, and the other is Gigi, proudly posing for the banner shot at the top of the blog. You will notice that Gigi has what are commonly referred to as “fat tires” to help soak up some of the road imperfections (Gigi says they’re not fat they’re “comfortable” tires). This road has seen 2 serious wrecks after being chip sealed, both involving single track vehicles, both requiring the victims be transported to trauma centers rated to deal with serious head injury, and both involving riders wearing helmets. I don’t know the details on the motorcycle rider that went down earlier but for the bike rider… helmets only protect the parts they cover, and this rider had severe facial injuries. That’s one of the reasons I wear a full face helmet when I ride, getting the face sewn back on is no fun at all. Still, wear a helmet. It’s pretty much the only PPE you have as a cyclist.

An OK rider isn’t so OK after riding the wrong way. Local teen bicyclist injured How do we expect kids to follow the law when nobody teaches it to them? This wreck demonstrates why we need to have bike safety and road rules taught in elementary school again like it was when I was a kid. Since they won’t teach real Sex Ed in Health, teach them how to not get killed on the roads.

This story tells why you shouldn’t ride on the sidewalk, even though they blame the wrong vehicle in the headline. Cyclist Who Hit Border Patrol Vehicle Injured The BP vehicle was pulling out of a parking lot and crossing the sidewalk when the collision happened, that makes the motor vehicle at fault. Still this is why bikes should not be ridden on the sidewalk, because motor vehicle drivers are not looking for a bicycle on the sidewalk when pulling out of driveways and parking lots that cross the sidewalk. They aren’t looking for anything smaller than a car, which is why so many pedestrians are hit in sidewalks.

Now for some good news/bad news. County to pay $2.3 million to cyclist’s family and nearly word-for-word identical from the Murky Santa Clara County settles suit in cyclist’s death after crash with sheriff’s deputy I’m beginning to wonder if there are any native English speaking reporters working for the Murky, most of their articles are simple cut-and-paste jobs from wire services with a little bit of changing and deleting, and stories that are exclusive to them are collections of single sentence paragraphs with simple declarative sentences that hold only one concept, like a 10 YO kid’s book report. The good news is that Council’s employer has taken responsibility for his actions, the bad news is the people of the county are paying for that responsibility, and Council is still employed at the Sheriff’s Department after he is released from his house arrest after he spent 14 months on paid leave. He now gets paid $50K a year to fetch doughnuts and file paperwork. The shame of it all!

Another of those self inflicted injuries, a cyclist runs a red light, updates from an earlier post. Bike rider killed in Anchorage intersection with pictures Cyclist Killed in Collision and with commentary A tale of two photos Apparently listening to some kind of music device and not paying attention to the road or traffic signals will get a person killed on a bicycle. Don’t let it be you.

A cyclist is killed by a hit-and-run drunk driver. Bicyclist hit by a truck and killed in Cairo The only good thing was the drunk driver rolled his vehicle trying to get away from the scene of the crime and totaled it. Drunk hit-and-run, backhoe, cement mixer, wolverines and rabid badgers, he pays for the materials. I think you know the way I feel on DUI hit-and-run, especially one involving a fatality.

The driver that hit the Las Vegas cyclist was so impaired that he had to have help holding his head up for his mug shot. Driver booked for DUI after bicyclist killed No mention of what he was taking, except that it was a lot of it whatever it was. I think it might take a while to get the toxicology screen back to find out what was in the guy. It’s drivers like this that make it imperative that the penalties for driving under the influence causing death need to be strengthened. This guy was driving on the sidewalk part of the time and dragged the cyclist 120-150 feet (depending on the account) after he hit the cyclist. He would have gone further but the vehicle broke down from something on the bike jamming the works. I’m just so angry about this I have no words suitable for a family venue.

I didn’t see any reports on the wreck, but here’s one on the memorial. Friend: Cyclist ‘died doing what he loved doing’ The original report. Alleged drunk driver hits, kills cyclist That bike looks almost as bad as mine after my wreck. Not much you can do when a drunk swerves suddenly and hits you from behind, not enough time to react and use your escape route.

A cyclist in Jolly Olde hits or is hit by a big truck. Cyclist injured in Hove crash with lorry Yes that’s the level of detail from UK wreck reports, I can’t even tell you which vehicle hit the other.

And a Aussie driver forfeits his right to remain part of the human race. Drunk driver admits fleeing after killing cyclst “Rudland’s initial blood-alcohol reading was allegedly 0.15″. OK let him live, just don’t let him live anywhere around people.

Why cyclists need to watch their calcium intake. Is Bicycling Bad for Your Bones? I get lots of dairy and veggies that are both high in calcium and the vitamins required to use calcium, plus I get lots of sun for more vitamin D, so my bones are like rocks, literally. I get my bone density tested once a year because of my wreck making it likely my hip might fall apart like that other US bike racer that won the TdF after Lance, and the last 2 tests were so high that the tech likened it to a piece of concrete in the tester. Watch your dairy intake and keep your bones strong.

And this was preparations for a race, not a wreck, but I liked it. After delay, cyclists pedal furiously at Masters trials Yay, Us!

And that is everything worth sharing from the Feed today. Did you notice the change in the header graphic? That’s Gigi at rest in the sun from the Dallas SolstiCelebration last weekend at WRL. The photo was taken at the Bath House Cultural Center literally right next to the lake. The big lump in the back is the Honking Huge Taillight^tm.

Billed @$.02, Opus