Well I was looking over my enhanced blog stats today, and I noticed something interesting. There are a lot of people (?) reading my blog from US Government servers. Well 3 or 4 of you anyway. I wonder how many TX Gov’t types are reading my blog? While there are TX servers, they are mostly registered to commercial providers, so how do I know when the Big Brother in the cowboy hat is watching me? Any of you Net Savvy people out there care to help me on this one? As for the US people reading my blog my lookup system was not precise enough to tell me which part of the Gov’t they were working for like DoT, or DoJ, or FBI, just that the server belonged to the US Gov’t. With my luck it’s probably some minions in the Department of Agriculture cube farm somewhere reading my blog on break from manipulating hog belly futures 
The Feed was mostly lifestyle articles today, unusual for a weekday, but we are getting into the slow news time of the year.
Another Boise area cyclist is hit. Bicyclist injured after being hit by car Does the state of ID need to retest drivers on bicycles in the roads? Fortunately the cyclist was not too seriously injured in this wreck, and I’m still wondering why the driver left the road before he hit the cyclist. Nothing mentioned about drinking so maybe talking or texting? Given what we now know about cell phone usage in cars being more dangerous than drinking, what is the holdup about making using a cell phone while driving a crime? I would say the same thing that made getting tough against DUI such a battle 20 years ago, too many legislators use their cell phones to make their cars a mobile office now, and too many used to drink and drive before. What is needed is a comparison for legislators, have them drive sober and undistracted on a closed course, then taking a call on a cell phone, then get them drunk (.08 BAC) and do it again. and compare drunk and distracted against the baseline and each other so that they know drunk and distracted aren’t much different on the road. Too many people have died already where we know they weren’t paying attention because of a cell phone, like that train wreck in LA last year, and many minor bus wrecks all over the country in the last 6 months…
Des Moines investigates a cop on cyclist wreck like they would a shooting. Des Moines police launch probe of officer who hit cyclist I have to commend the officer in this case, he stopped immediately and rendered aid to the cyclist and summoned medical assistance. I’m sure he didn’t hit the cyclist on purpose he was just focused on catching the speeder. Driving over the limit endangers cyclists, too. Something else to be positive about was the insistence that the cyclist get checked by medical professionals for injuries that could have been hidden by shock. And I’m also glad the wreck is being investigated so carefully, not because I want the cop crucified but because understanding this wreck can help prevent others. As for how you can avoid a similar wreck, it’s back to Situational Awareness. Be aware of what is going on around you, like the cop sitting in a speed trap. As cyclists we have a much better view of what is going on and those of us not wearing full face helmets (almost all) can hear better too. Use those attributes to keep yourself alive. And BTW don’t ride on the sidewalk.
And I can just see this exchange at the Pearly Gates: “How did you die?” “I got hit by a tank truck full of raw sewage.” “doood!” Bicyclist killed in crash with tanker truck At this time there is nothing on the cyclist or how he died.
And one of the biggest stories in Canadia and Canuckistan continues to be the wreck in Ottawa that injured 5 cyclists. Olympian Kershaw trades in skis to help keep cyclists safe and Nothing cyclists could do, enthusiasts say At this point anything I have to add would be redundant.
The UK is starting to get with the program of what to do with drivers that are a danger to anyone else on the roads, especially us cyclists and pedestrians. Court places curfew order on pensioner who killed cyclist I would have rather seen a prison sentence, but a curfew is better than nothing. For my US readers, this was the UK equivalent of a left cross, because they drive on the wrong side of the roads over there
A CT writer writes about transportational cyclists from when he was a kid and one of them/us. The (Other ) Bikers Then he gets into a profound lack of understanding of the nature of professional cycling.
A NYC writer with an odd penchant for changing fonts and font sizes in the middle of a paragraph posts about bike parking and education. Brooklyn’s Mourning Rider Gives Green Cities a New Rule I don’t know what knowing truck schedules is about unless it’s from a bike hater that doesn’t like bikes “slowing down” trucks.
A RAGBRAI article from something other than the Register. RAGBRAI ride eases on fourth day That sounds like it would be wonderful. One day I’m going to RAGBRAI.
And when you start feeling down about your situation think about these guys. Amputee bicyclists make cross-country trip to share hope Yeah, no legs from the knees down or above the knees, and still riding a bicycle from coast to coast, including 2 mountain ranges. The rest of us are all pansies by comparison.
A day of the COPS ride is canceled due to rains. C.O.P.S. ride in memory of others across Indiana I still say support this ride…
And that’s all of it today, I have things to do tonight away from the house, so no late night posts.
Billed @$.02, Opus
